Emma Raducanu broke a tennis rule during her defeat at the Queen`s tournament.
The British player was eliminated in straight sets by the top seed, Qinwen Zheng, who received boos from the crowd several times.
The first incident occurred in the opening set when Zheng took a break to change her shoes.
During this pause, Raducanu chose to stay sharp by practicing her serve.
However, by doing this, she violated a rule that only allows players to practice serves before the match begins.
BBC commentator Annabel Croft commented: “I don’t know if Raducanu is meant to hit a ball like that. She’s just practised a serve and normally you’re not meant to do that!”
Despite Raducanu`s rule break, it was her opponent who drew boos from the crowd, as some spectators became impatient with how long Zheng was taking to change her trainers.
The Chinese player acknowledged the crowd with a raised hand in apology, although she stopped play again in the second set because of a problem with her racket.
Zheng ultimately won the match in straight sets, with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
Raducanu herself also required a timeout, struggling with a back problem.
She received treatment in the changing rooms after dropping the first set.
A video caption from the original source read: “`It`s wildly inappropriate` – Moment Emma Raducanu`s opponent intervenes and ushers cameraman away.”
The back issue stems from spasms she suffered before the French Open. The 22-year-old previously had to conquer her fear of needles to undergo acupuncture in an effort to relieve the pain.
