Ugly act at Australian Open 2024 as ball girl remains terrified after Russian star's tantrum during first round

Pavel Vyacheslavovich Kotov was lucky not to be disqualified from the Australian Open after a shocking outburst left a young ball girl terrified.

The 25-year-old Russian had to work for his first round victory on Sunday after Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech fought from two sets down to take the match to the decider in Melbourne.

During that grueling encounter, Kotov exploded in an outburst that infuriated many tennis fans.

After failing to keep his shot in play, Kotov grabbed the ball and hit it forcefully against the back wall behind him, where a ball girl was standing nearby.

The ball fizzed dangerously close to the ball girl, but didn't hit her as she took cover.

Hitting a spectator is grounds for disqualification, but the vicious nature of the act left a sour taste.

“As a parent of a ball kid, I find it absolutely disgusting that he wasn't disqualified from the AO,” one fan said on Instagram. “The ball kids are all volunteers and don't deserve to feel scared or threatened while they are on duty.”

Another said: 'What a wild animal. Fortunately he is a famous tennis player, otherwise there would be consequences.'

He vented his frustration in a difficult five-setter against Arthur Rinderknech

A third added: 'Tennis is a growing sport of spoiled brats who don't know how to behave.

'It should be a tough approach to irritability and general lack of self-control. Any sport where you behave like that, rugby, football, (team sports), you will be punished immediately.'

Another fan called for the Russian to be disqualified: “Should be disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct… what if he had hit her.”

It was a boisterous atmosphere at Outside Court Six, with a new Courtside Bar overlooking the court creating a party atmosphere in Melbourne.

But Kotov's opponent Rinderknech was far from impressed by the behavior of some fans and compared the scenes to those of a nightclub.

“The bench with only three or four guys next to the court, who had probably been drinking alcohol for a long time and yelling at me every time I missed a first serve, especially the game where I also broke down, the entire fifth set. It doesn't matter, I'm used to it, I'm fine. I should have been able to handle it.

'But I didn't think it was really stylish.'

The Frenchman added that he felt like he was playing tennis in a nightclub, and not at one of the most prestigious venues on the calendar.

'I mean, we're playing in a nightclub! Fine. I thought we could only play in a nightclub at the US Open. It happened today for four (hours) – I don't even know how long we played.

Kotov's opponent, Arthur Rinderknech, was far from impressed with the fans nearby

A Courtside Bar overlooking Outside Court Six created a festive atmosphere in Melbourne

'It was just eating, drinking, laughing, talking, music, different music. A lot of things happened on the field!'

With Nick Kyrgios sidelined from the tournament due to injury, such explosive scenes were not expected at the Australian Open.

However, Kyrgios is still heavily involved this year, with the 28-year-old providing commentary for Eurosport.

The Australian gave his insight ahead of Novak Djokovic's first round match against Dino Prizmic at Rod Laver Arena, with the Serb looking to win the competition for the 11th time.