Breaking News: Tennis Australia responds to brawl at Melbourne Park
Tennis Australia has had its fair share of drama this year, and the Australian Open hasn’t even started yet. The drama, however, began with an Australian Open wildcard playoffs ban on three local players, after they were accused
of misconduct, while in another incident, a fight erupted at a junior tournament at the Sydney event, which prompted police intervention.
The fight broke out between a 51 year old man and a 48 year old man, after an argument about a point during a match between two teenagers spilled over to create an incident. One of the men was incarcerated for assault, while emergency
services were called for the other one.
Sharna Roberts, a police spokeswoman, confirmed that the force was called to break up the spat around 4 pm on Tuesday. She told media that the call had resulted in an arrest, saying, “as a result, one man was arrested and interviewed
for assault-related matters. He was released pending further inquiries.” Meanwhile, the 48 year old man was treated for cuts and minor injuries at St Vincent’s Hospital, and then released.
Tennis Australia, meanwhile, has made it very clear that such incidents of violence will not be tolerated, and plans on sending “a very clear message” to any party involved in such brawls. Tournament director, Craig Tiley issued
a statement reaffirming this; his stated, “we will not tolerate anti-social behaviour from players, parents or anyone involved in tennis and any breaches will be punished harshly.”
When asked about the punishment for these perpetrators, Tiley said, “At this point we have agreed to wait for the Victoria Police to conclude their investigation and then we will be making a decision on what our punishment will
be. We put a lot of thought, time and energy into educating players, parents and officials on the appropriate behaviour, which is what makes these types of incidents so disappointing.”
He added that the brawling duo would be punished, and that a clear message would be sent that made sure that “there are certain standards and the expectation is that everyone adheres to those (expectations).”
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