Ball boy struck by racket as tempers flare at ASB Classic

She must really love ball boys or something, because that seems above and beyond.

“Jelena said to it slipped from her hand so it was just a code violation or something”.

On the run and being battered by some heavy hitting from the Brit, Ostapenko watched as a forehand sped by her but then inexplicably she appeared to throw her racket behind her, hitting a ball boy.

Broady would go on to save two match points and win the match 4-6 7-6(4) 7-5, immediately after which an argument broke out with her world number 88 opponent.

However, instead of faltering and crumbling to defeat, as she has done in the past, the incident only enticed Broady to victory, securing the tie break before breaking her opponent towards the end of another tight set for the win.

Broady, now the British number three, insisted Ostapenko should be disqualified, but the Latvian said her racket had slipped out of her hand – a view that the umpire also shared.

But Broady says she is happy with her performances, describing the tournament as an unforgettable experience. Her shots began to fall shorter, giving Broady plenty of chances to take big swings with her forehand.

“We had a bit of a confrontation, but she’s going to be a fantastic player and I’m sure we’ll both learn from any mistakes we made today and move forwards”. The ball boy was called to the umpires’ chair, and confirmed the racquet had hit him on the shoulder.

The 25-year-old had already beaten established player Magdalena Rybarikova in qualifying but she took her game to a new level with a 7-5 6-4 success over the Serb.

Broady said: “The ball kids are volunteers and a lot of them are quite young so you need to have a lot of respect for them”.

Broady will meet American fifth seed Sloane Stephens for a place in the semifinals.