Kato & Sutjiadi's Default 'Ridiculous Reading of Rules' Says Navratilova

Martina Navratilova has contested comparisons between two different disqualifications that happened over the past few years.

In particular, the American talked about Miyu Kato's 2023 Roland Garros disqualification for hitting a ball girl and Novak Djokovic's default at the 2020 US Open for hitting a lineswoman.

In the third round WTA doubles match at Roland Garros, Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi were disqualified after Kato unintentionally hit a ball girl whilst returning the ball to opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo.

The incident left the ball girl in tears and Kato was initially given a warning by the umpire until Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo protested, which led to Kato and Sutjiadi's eventual disqualification.

Since the event took place, Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo have faced scrutiny for unsportsmanlike behaviour to progress at Roland Garros at their competitor's expense. The latest high-profile figure to question the decision to disqualify Kato and Sutjiadi was Navratilova, who took to her official Twitter channel to question the ruling and how it needs to be changed in the future.

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In the subsequent exchanges between Navratilova and fans on Twitter, one person posted a video of Djokovic accidentally hitting a lineswoman with a ball during the 2020 US Open. The commentator outlined that the rules are clear that such an act leads to a default situation.

As a result of his actions at Flushing Meadows in 2020, Djokovic faced the same punishment as Kato and Sutjiadi as the Serbian was immediately disqualified from the Grand Slam in the fourth round. However, Navratilova was quick to provide her opinion on the debate as she explained that the two incidents were not comparable.

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