Katie Boulter has expressed relief that she avoided serious injury after tripping over an advertising hoarding at Roland Garros, just hours before Zeynep Sonmez was forced to retire from her match after suffering the same fate.
Boulter's Incident
The British number three stumbled during her second-round defeat to Anastasia Potapova when she stepped back to play a shot and trod on small green Lacoste advertising blocks placed in front of the tarpaulin covers at the back of the court. These markers are similar to those used on cricket boundaries. Boulter lost her balance but managed to brace herself by putting her hands down on the clay.
Taking to social media, Boulter reposted pictures of the incident with the caption: 'Roland Garros really deserves to be sued, she was lucky it wasn't something serious but for real…what's the point of those things on court?' She added: 'Got lucky last night. Next time I might not be…'
Sonmez's Retirement
Earlier that morning, Turkish doubles player Zeynep Sonmez was competing in her second-round clash alongside Tatjana Maria when she raced back to retrieve a ball, kept her eyes on it, and failed to see the hoarding. She tripped and face-planted into the back wall, falling to the floor and cutting her knee. Sonmez retired at just 2-0 in the opening set.
Reacting to a video of the incident, Boulter wrote: 'Omg! Not again!' The French Tennis Federation (FFT) has been approached for comment.
Previous Incident
The accidents follow a similar incident involving Alexander Blockx, who had to withdraw from the men's draw after spraining his ankle during practice. Blockx initially posted on social media that the injury was due to tripping on the tarpaulins at the back of the court, writing: 'Unfortunately, during today's practice I heard a snap in my ankle while I sprained it thanks to the “really necessary” covers at the back of the court @rolandgarros, which is why I had to withdraw from tomorrow's match that I was really looking forward to.' He later edited his post to remove the reference to the covers.
