Tennis fans who tuned in to the National Bank Open for the second round matchup between Maria Sakkari and Danielle Collins were likely hoping to see another wonderful tennis match, but instead was met with an unexpected exchange between the two tennis pros Wednesday night.
It all started when Collins, the 29-year-old tennis pro, took the first set over Sakkari 6-4 and was leading 2-1 in the second. Following Sakkari’s serve, Collins returned it but it had been called out. Nonetheless, Sakkari then proceeded to smash the ball out of bounds, into the crowd.
Apparently, Collins was not amused by the sudden display of unsportsmanlike behavior and the two quickly got into a heated argument. Collins demanded Sakkari to ‘shut her mouth’ and Sakkari argued that the ball ‘didn’t hit anyone’. The umpire intervened and asked both players to move on.
The match then continued and Collins emerged victorious with a 6-4, 6-2 scoreline. Upon their final handshake at centre court, it seemed that both athletes had left their dispute behind.
With her win, Collins is set to face off against Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16. Fernandez also advanced to the next round after beating 11th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
It’s a shame that the second round matchup between Sakkari and Collins ended the way it did, instead of providing the fans with an entertaining match. But overall, their dispute has certainly provided us with an interesting subplot to the tournament.
Hopefully, with cooler heads prevailing, the other round of 16 matches will allow us to witness some more of the world-class tennis action that we’ve come to expect from the National Bank Open.
Tense moment at WTA 1000 Montreal tonight between Sakkari and Collins.
I agree with Collins here–the officials need to be way stricter on players recklessly smacking the ball and throwing racquets into the stands.
Should be no looking the other way when that happens. pic.twitter.com/fpsA6MSnm2
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 10, 2023
