Ukrainian tennis star Dayana Yastremska is courting controversy again after her role in a scarcely believable round one singles match at the Australian Open yesterday.
The 21-year-old lost 1-6, 6-0, 0-5 to American Madison Brengle after retiring in one of the most bizarre scorelines you will ever see.
Fans observed that Yastremska had previously withdrawn from matches when close to defeat, a move Tennis Podcast host David Law said was widely “frowned upon” by players.
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“Anything to avoid a bagel, eh?” Reuters sports writer Manasi Pathak said on Twitter.
Leading tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg described it as “one of the most iconic box scores you will ever see.”
Incredibly, Yastremska made 60 unforced errors while Brengle hit just one winner.
The now world No.144 was accused of faking an injury by Caroline Wozniacki in 2018 and flew to Australia last year despite having tested positive to a banned substance.
She did not play in last year’s Australian Open but had her ban overturned in June.
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