It’s the type of tantrum that gets a 15-year-old punished. For Ida Wobker, it was a lot worse than losing her mobile phone for a week.
While locked in a 5-5 tie in the second set with Valentina Pop, the German teen had a meltdown after missing a backhand long, leading to a disqualification from the first round of Wimbledon’s junior girl’s tournament.
Wobker threw her racket into the ground before it bounced up and into the stands lining Court 11, the New York Post reports.
Immediately, Wobker rushed over to apologise for the incident, but officials paused the match and decided to give the 15-year-old a code violation for her behaviour.
Pop was given an automatic win on Saturday, however she lost to Daniella Britton in the second round.
Wobker then reacted to the incident in an Instagram story Saturday night.
“S*** happens, you learn from it,” she posted.
The International Tennis Foundation rules state that tennis players “shall not violently or with anger hit, kick or throw a racquet or other equipment within the precincts of the tournament site.”
It also states: “For the purpose of this Rule, abuse of racquets or equipment is defined as intentionally and violently destroying or damaging racket or equipment or intentionally and violently hitting the net, court, umpire’s chair or other fixture during a match out of anger or frustration.”
Wobker was blanked 6-0 in the first set and couldn’t build a cushion in the set.
Before being defaulted, she made 44 unforced errors and 11 double faults.
Pop had the upper leg all match, making just seven unforced errors and four double faults.
Wobker is ranked 24th in the ITF’s junior world rankings.
— This story originally appeared on The New York Post and has been republished with permission