Wimbledon 2023: Mirra Andreeva fumes at umpire after point penalty for racquet abuse in Madison Keys loss

Mirra Andreeva’s dream run at Wimbledon ended under a cloud as the 16-year-old was handed a point penalty in the final game of her defeat to Madison Keys.

That incident put Andreeva match point down, and her opponent, the American 25th seed Keys, took advantage to seal her place in the quarter-finals.

Andreeva, playing in just her second Grand Slam, had already received a code violation earlier in the match, and umpire Julie Kjendlie decided that her second indiscretion merited the sanction.

As Kjendlie announced her decision, Andreeva looked distraught and walked over to the chair to protest her innocence, having felt she slipped near the baseline trying to retrieve a ball directed towards her forehand corner.

“I slipped. I didn’t do it. I slid and I fell,” Andreeva began.

“No it’s [the] wrong decision. Do you understand what you are doing? Do you understand what you are doing?”

“I didn’t throw the racquet, I slid. Yes I did slip, I didn’t throw the racquet.

“I slid. It’s the wrong decision. I didn’t throw the racquet, I fell. I slid and then I fell.”

At the conclusion of the match, Andreeva marched straight past Kjendlie without the customary handshake.

Speaking afterwards, Keys said she had felt the pressure playing against the talented 16-year-old.

“I knew she’s obviously a phenomenal player so I knew I had to stay in the match and try to get an opportunity to break back,” Keys told BBC Sport.

“I just tried to keep the momentum and keep going and here we are.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t [feeling pressure]. You don’t want to be the person who loses to her for her to get to her first quarters.

“I knew that if I could just try to stay in the match that my many, many, many more years on the Tour should kick in.”

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