Jenson Brooksby ‘truly sorry’ after nearly hitting ball person with ATP told to ‘step up’ after another incident

Shahida Jacobs
Jenson Brooksby after a match
Jenson Brooksby

Jenson Brooksby took time out to chat to the ball person who was in the firing line when he threw his racket during a meltdown at the Miami Open.

American Brooksy came in for sharp criticism for his behaviour during his 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Federico Coria on Thursday, with many feeling he should have been defaulted.

The 21-year-old lost his cool while 4-1 up in the deciding set as he angrily threw his racket to the ground and it bounced in the direction of the ball person, who ducked out of the way to avoid getting hit.

WATCH: McEnroe and Djokovic fans fume as Jenson Brooksby escapes disqualification

He was only handed a point penalty despite Coria protesting that the punishment should have been stricter.

After the match, Brooksby “apologised” to the ball person and later added on Instagram that he was “truly sorry”.

“I am truly sorry for my actions out there today. I will learn from this and continue to grow on and off court. Thanks to the fans for the support out there today! See you on Saturday! Round 1 ✅ @miamiopen,” he wrote.

The incident was reminiscent of Novak Djokovic’s disqualification from the 2020 US Open when the world No 1 accidentally hit a linesperson in the throat after returning a ball, with pundits saying Brooksby should also have been defaulted.

There have been similar incidents involving Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios in recent weeks with the former expelled from the Mexican Open after hitting the umpire’s chair with his racket while Kyrgios was allowed to continue to play despite nearly hitting a ball person in Indian Wells last week.

Former world No 1 Tracy Austin called on the ATP to “step up”.

“Was calling the match-Brooksby threw his racket twice. After losing 1st set threw hard on ground in front of his chair, ricocheted to Coria’s side. 2nd time-Ballboys shouldn’t have to be leaping out of way of hurling rackets. Kyrgios IW also. @atp step up please,” she wrote.

New York Times correspondent Christopher Clarey tweeted that Brooksby and Kyrgios should have been disqualified.

“This has to stop. The more you let it slide or slap it on the wrist the more it will increase,” he wrote.

“This, in my book, should be an automatic default, even if, as in Indian Wells or here, the ballperson dodged the racket.”

He added: “And to me, this falls into the intentional category. He did not intentionally target the ballkid but he did intentionally fling the racket into a part of the court where people could be put at risk.”