Wimbledon star smashes ball boy with high-speed serve and forced to apologise | Tennis | Sport
Ben Shelton immediately put his hand up to apologise after his ferocious serve hit a Wimbledon ball kid during his match with Otto Virtanen. The big-serving American caught the ballboy off-guard with a bullet ace, accidentally hitting him in the midriff.
Shelton is known for his frightening high-speed serves and has currently hit the second fastest of this tournament, clocking a staggering 146mph already in his first match. Only Thiago Agustin Tirante has registered a faster serve, sending one down at 147.8mph.
The ballboy on Court Two found out all about Shelton’s menacing serve during the third set of his match with Virtanen after being struck by the ball.
The fourth seed put his hand up straight away and was heard saying: “Are you OK.” The ballboy assured Shelton he was fine before the American returned to the baseline to continue playing.
Shelton, who registered his best finish last year at SW19 by reaching the quarter-finals, will be desperate to go on a deep run, having endured a nightmare French Open.
The 23-year-old was unceremoniously dumped out in the second round in straight sets. With Carlos Alcaraz out due to a wrist injury, the world number five will no doubt be sensing he has a golden opportunity this year.
And that’s without considering concerns about Novak Djokovic‘s body’s ability to hold up, and Jannik Sinner‘s fitness issues at Roland Garros and his gruelling opening-match win on Monday.
The world number five, however, will first have to deal with qualifier Virtanen. The American surprisingly dropped the first set but fired back, reeling off the next two sets to close in on victory, which would set up a second-round match with home favourite Arthur Fery, who became just the second Brit after Katie Swan to make it through after beating Damir Džumhur in four sets.
Speaking ahead of the tournament at the weekend, Shelton sent a warning to his rivals. “I have a lot more room to grow,” he said.
“But I do think I have made big strides, and I think it has shown in certain points in the year where I’ve played really well.”
