'I am extremely sorry': Amarissa Toth apologises to Zhang Shuai for unsporting behaviour

Chinese tennis veteran Zhang Shuai was reduced to tears earlier this week due to a disgraceful act by her opponent Amarissa Kiara Toth in the opening round of the Hungarian Open 2023. Toth suffered heavy backlash for her act of wiping off a mark from the court, which Shuai was going to contest. The incident led to the tennis world lashing out at the local Hungarian for unsporting behavior.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Zhang Shuai decided to walk off from the match after withdrawing in the 1st round
• Toth suffered backlash for celebrating the win despite her disgraceful act
• Toth suffered a loss in two sets to Kateryna Baindl in the next round

ALSO READ | Zhang Shuai Reduced To Tears In Match, Opponent's 'poor Sportsmanship' Called Out - WATCH

Amarissa Toth apologies for her disgraceful act in the Hungarian Open

Amarissa Toth advanced into the Round of 16 of the Hungarian Open tournament after earning a win by walkover against Zhang Shuai earlier this week. While she became the talk of the town for her disgraceful act of removing the mark from the court, she opened up on the same after losing to Kateryna Baindl in the next round. Speaking to reporters after the loss, Toth apologised for the act and mentioned she never intended to disrespect the Chinese player.

“I did not think that my first ever WTA main draw success of my career would cause such a storm. I am extremely sorry for what happened, I respect Zhang Shuai as a player and as a person. It was never my intention to disrespect, hurt or upset anybody, let alone Zhang Shuai,” said Amarissa Toth.

“Got caught up by my emotions and the moment”

While Zhang was left in tears due to the incident on Tuesday, she still showed sportsmanship by shaking hands with the umpire and her opponent before walking out. However, Toth was seen celebrating the win, which stirred among tennis fans all around the world. During her conversation with the media personnel on Thursday, Toth explained how she got caught up with the emotions.

Here’s a video of her statement after her Hungarian Open exit.

“I do realise I shouldn’t have celebrated the way I celebrated after the match and I’m sorry for that. I was acting in the heat of the match and got caught up by my emotions and the moment. I focused on tennis, I didn’t want to win like that,” she mentioned.

ALSO READ | Zhang Shuai Leaves match After Opponent Allegedly Uses Foot To Remove Ball Mark Over contentious Call

What did the WTA say?

Meanwhile, the WTA also issued a statement on the incident on Wednesday. “The WTA has zero tolerance for racism in any form or context. The unfortunate incident that took place yesterday at the Hungarian (Budapest) Grand Prix and subsequent posts are being reviewed and will be addressed,” WTA said.

Zhang Shuai is currently ranked 45 in the WTA singles ranking and has won a total of three titles in her career.