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An ITF Juniors tournament in Accra, Ghana, witnessed a moment of madness when French Tennis player Michael Kouame slapped his opponent Raphael Nii Ankrah after losing the match.
According to reports, Kouame was the top seed going into the Tennis Foundation Ghana Open. But the Frenchman was stunned by the Ghanaian Ankrah in the first round, who won the opening set 6-2 and took the second set into a tie-breaker. The third set was a brilliant fight between the two youngsters as the match went into a tie-breaker before Ankrah won it 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5).
Following the contest, both players walked to the centre of the court for the customary post-match handshakes but Ankrah was greeted with a slap to his face instead. Kouame's actions stunned his opponent and everyone present in the stadium.
Soon after the incident, a brawl broke out as the ground staff rushed to the court, and Kouame and Ankrah kept up with the arguments.
Video of the shocking incident is now making rounds on social media. The footage shows Kouame shaking Ankrah’s hand at the net, then slapping him with his free left hand, prompting gasps from the crowd in the arena. A shocked Ankrah is seen taking several steps back.
The 15-year-old budding French player issued an apology on Instagram, noting that his actions were “completely out of line”.
The player explained that he was frustrated by the “intense” match. Moreover, he was subjected to insults from the crowd ― some aimed at his mother.
“However, that does not excuse my behavior. I would like to publicly apologize to Raphael,” Kouame wrote. “I was wrong and completely out of line. I accept any consequences as a result of my behavior from the ITF governing body.”
The International Tennis Federation told USA Today that they were “reviewing the matter further under the code of conduct for the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors to establish if any further action is required.”
