Disputes in tennis result regularly between two opponents, a player and chair umpire, or occasionally between a player and coach.
But at the China Open on Sunday, it took a whole new dimension as a dispute between two doubles partners turned into a wrangle and seized the attention of tennis fans on social media. It all arose from the first-round match involving Yanina Wickmayer and Alycia Parks.
Wickmayer and Parks were partners facing the experienced French duo of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. It looked like the underdogs, those being Wickmayer and Parks, were on their way to an upset win, leading 6-2, 5-3.
In spite of getting a look at a match point, they couldn't win the match. Garcia and Mladenovic held for 4-5. It was up to Alycia Parks to serve for the match after the changeover. But after a dud game from the American in which she threw in an untimely double fault and a wayward backhand, the match was back on serve.
Wickmayer was livid, visibly upset at how they easily gave away that service game when the match ought to have been in their pocket. As the Belgian trudged to her position preparing for the next game, she could be seen uttering some words, presumably berating Parks who could be seen in the background staring coldly at the Belgian, gesticulating as if to say she had done nothing wrong.
At the next changeover, it was Wickmayer who gave Parks the ultimate death stare. Moments later, they would lose the second set in a tiebreak and they would never recover in a 10-point tiebreak in the decider which Garcia and Mladenovic won 10-6.
This was just the third match that Wickmayer and Parks have played together on a doubles court. They reached the second round of the Guadalajara Open as a pair last month. You can check out how the drama unfolded in the video below.
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