Toth finally apologized for his disgraceful behavior in Budapest

After removing iron in principle in his disgraceful behavior in WTA Budapestthe hungarian Amarissa Toth20 years old and world No. 548, finally publicly apologized for what he did in the 1st round against China Shuai Zhangwho decided to retire when he lost 6-5 between tears and anxiety attacks.

At 5-5, the 34-year-old Zhang, 45th-ranked, hit a forehand cross that looked good, but the lineswoman called it. At the request of the Chinese, the seat manager went down to check the mark and confirmed it outside even though the boat was clearly visible on television holding the line. Not believing the referee’s decision, Zhang asked the tournament supervisor for help, but Shuai still lost the point.

The match went on for quite a while, but Zhang kept thinking about the situation and there was a moment when his rival, Toth, approached the mark in question and erased it with his shoe despite the fact that the tennis player shouted at him that Chinese he said. ‘t: “Wait, wait, wait! Hold the mark. What are you doing? Why are you doing that?” he suddenly said.

Sitting in his chair, Shuai Zhang was obviously disturbed during the change, and a physical therapist came to him. Shuai started crying and finally decided to leave the fight.

Despite the poor performance of the chair umpire and his rival, in another sporting gesture that further honored him, the Chinese player shook hands with the two before leaving the court to boos from the public, who also had a sad reaction at the time this. whole situation.

Oddly, without any blushing, Amarissa Toth raised her arms in victory and celebrated her passage to the 2nd round just after Shuai Zhang’s handshake. Toth’s behavior was quickly condemned by other players, but he blamed the Chinese tennis player, according to statements collected in his country by M4 Sport.

“I think Shuai stayed with herself. I don’t understand why she’s fussing, why she wants to overturn the chair umpire’s decision. I don’t understand why she didn’t accept the decision, but she wants to make a whole problem out of it ,” the Hungarian said after the game to M4 Sport.

WTA statement

“Zero tolerance for racism”

The WTA released a statement regretting what happened in the match between Zhang and Toth. “The WTA has no tolerance for racism in any form or context. The unfortunate incident that occurred at the tournament in Hungary and subsequent publications are being analyzed and discussed,” explained a note from the women’s tennis circuit.

Toth returned to the court on Thursday to play and lose in the round of 16 against Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl (6-3, 6-1) and finally apologized for her sad behavior the other day.

“I never thought that my first win in the WTA main draw would cause such a storm. I regret what happened, I respect Shuai Zhang as a player and a person. It was never my intention to disrespect him, hurt or offend anyone, and more Shuai,” Toth said in a statement.

“I realized that I shouldn’t have celebrated the victory the way I did after the match and I’m sorry. I acted in the heat of the match and got caught up in my emotions and in the moment. I focused on tennis, I didn’t want to win like this”, added the Hungarian player.

Toth, who defended his decision to remove the mark the other day, said he hoped to speak with Zhang in the future to express his regret.