French Open in 2023/ 全仏オープン
Japan's Oda makes men's history with wheelchair victory at French Open; De Groot wins women's final
Jun 11, 2023, JapanToday, PARIS
Japanese teenager Tokito Oda won the French Open wheelchair final to become the youngest man to win a Grand Slam tournament in any discipline, while Diede De Groot won the women's final on Saturday for her 18th major singles title.
The 17-year-old Oda was seeded second and beat top-seeded Alfie Hewett of Britain 6-1, 6-4 on Court Philippe Chatrier for his first major title. The International Tennis Federation confirmed Oda's record, which excludes juniors, and listed his age as 17 years, 33 days.
*seed =ｽｨｰﾄﾞｩ =種、シード選手/ 《他》～にシード権を与える
Oda called it “the happiest day of my career” and he will also overtake Hewett at the top of the rankings on Monday.
“Two dreams come true,” said Oda, who was beaten by Hewett earlier this year in the Australian Open final.
Hewett missed out on this fourth French Open title, his eighth major in singles and his 24th Slam overall.
Earlier, the 26-year-old De Groot of the Netherlands defeated second-seeded Yui Kamiji of Japan 6-2, 6-0 for her fourth title at Roland Garros, her 18th major in singles and 34th Slam overall.
De Groot is the reigning Paralympics champion.
French Open doubles player Miyu Kato of Japan disqualified for accidentally hitting a ball girl
June 5, 2023, JapanToday By HOWARD FENDRICH, PARIS
French Open doubles player Miyu Kato and her partner were forced to forfeit a match when Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point on Sunday.
In the second set on Court 14 at Roland Garros, Kato took a swing with her racket and the ball flew toward the ball kid, who was not looking in the player’s direction while heading off the court.
At first, chair umpire Alexandre Juge only issued a warning to Kato. But after tournament referee Remy Azemar and Grand Slam supervisor Wayne McEwen went to Court 14 to look into what happened, Kato and her partner, Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia, were disqualified.
That made Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic and Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain the winners of the match.
“It’s just a bad situation for everyone,” Bouzkova said. “But it’s kind of something that, I guess, is taken by the rules, as it is, even though it’s very unfortunate for them. ... At the end of the day, it was the referee’s decision.”
Bouzkova said she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”
She said one of the officials said the ball “has to do some kind of harm to the person affected” and that “at first, (Juge) didn’t see that.”
Bouzkova said she and Sorribes Tormo told Juge “to look into it more and ask our opponents what they think happened.”
During Coco Gauff’s 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 singles victory over Mirra Andreeva on Saturday, Andreev swatted a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen stands after dropping a point in the first set. Andreev was given a warning by the chair umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct but no further penalty.
“I heard about that. Didn’t see it,” Bouzkova said. “I guess it just depends on the circumstances and the given situation as it happens. ... It is difficult, for sure.
In the quarterfinals, Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo will face Ellen Perez of Australia and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States.
Defaulted in doubles, Miyu Kato strikes back with mixed doubles title at French Open
June 9, 2023, JapanToday, PARIS
Miyu Kato left behind the disappointment of her controversial disqualification in doubles by claiming the mixed doubles title at the French Open on Thursday.
Playing with Tim Puetz of Germany, the pair defeated 2019 U.S. Open singles champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada and Michael Venus of New Zealand 4-6, 6-4, 10-6.
Kato, a 28-year-old player from Japan, and her women’s doubles partner were defaulted during their third-round match last week after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck after a point.
Kato also forfeited all of her 21,500 euros (about $23,000) in prize money and rankings points from women’s doubles but was allowed to keep participating in mixed doubles.
“It has been really challenging for me for the past few days,” Kato said. “I want to thank all the players, coaches, everyone for their heartfelt messages of support.”
Kato and Puetz played for the first time together at Roland Garros.
“Miyu, it is unbelievable what has happened in the past 10 days,” Puetz said. “I hope this helps you. I am very, very happy to win.”
The win marked the first mixed doubles title for both Puetz and Kato, who had not conceded a set before the final.
Tennis: Miyu Kato meets ball girl at center of French Open controversy
June 9, 2023 (Mainichi Japan)
Japan's Miyu Kato, left, and Germany's Tim Puetz celebrate after winning the mixed doubles final against Canada's Bianca Andreescu and New Zealand's Michael Venus at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris on June 8, 2023. (Kyodo)
PARIS (Kyodo) -- French Open mixed doubles champion Miyu Kato on Friday posted a photo on Twitter taken with the girl she accidentally hit with a ball during a match that resulted in Kato's pair being expelled from the women's doubles draw.
"I'm glad to hear that you are doing well and continue to Volunteer as a Ball Girl. It makes me very happy to hear this," Kato tweeted in English as they posed smiling and the girl holding a gift from the player.
"I hope you enjoy the gift that I got you, and I look forward to seeing you again! Wishing you the Very Best!"
On Sunday, while the ball was not in play during her third-round women's doubles match at Roland Garros, Kato casually hit a ball to the opposite end of the court, striking the ball girl and leaving her in tears.
Kato apologized to her on the court and later on Twitter, but the 28-year-old Japanese and her partner, Indonesia's Aldila Sutjiadi, lost the match by default.
The penalty caused a wide-ranging stir. Kato lodged an appeal to the Grand Slam board, and the Professional Tennis Players Association declared it "unfair."
Kato ended the turbulent tournament on a high Thursday, winning the mixed doubles final with her German partner Tim Puetz to secure her first Grand Slam title, beating 2019 U.S. Open women's singles champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada and New Zealand's Michael Venus.
"I'm really happy. He helped me from the first round, and I'm grateful," Kato said. "I wasn't at all (expecting a tournament like this). The only good thing was I could finish it well."
Kato said there were no nerves from playing on Court Philippe-Chatrier for the first time and that she played aggressively as usual, but revealed the support she got from the fans at the venue gave her a lift as she improved from the second set.
"There were lots of people calling my name, and they really helped me," said the Kyoto Prefecture native.
She also thanked those in charge of the tournament and sport for allowing her to continue in the mixed doubles draw following the women's doubles default and promised to build on the whole experience.
"I just have to try not to get a default again for the rest of my entire life," she said. "This title, for me at this moment, is really big. I want to win a trophy again somewhere."
