#AustralianOpen: Umpire Reprimands Player For Asking Ball Girl To Peel A Banana For Him

Every year, teenagers around the globe compete and train for a chance to be a ball kid at tennis tournaments like the Australian Open. They don’t get paid but are given a chance to be a part of matches and interact with the players apart from receiving gifts and complimentary tickets for family/friends. Sometimes though, they also have to face rude behaviour as happened recently in Melbourne.

According to CNN, when a ball girl offered a banana to 21-year-old Elliot Benchetrit during a break in play, he asked her to peel it for him on account of his bandaged fingers. Upon witnessing this exchange, chair umpire John Blom scolded him and asked the French player to do it himself.

So this is the moment where Elliot Benchetrit asks the ballkid to peel his banana. I’m glad the umpire (John Blom) stepped in and told him off. pic.twitter.com/TK1GET68pG

— Alex Theodoridis (@AlexTheodorid1s) January 19, 2020

Business Insider reports that the incident took place during the final qualifying match between Elliot Benchetrit and Dmitry Popko. The French player went on to defeat his opponent 4-6 6-2 6-3 to enter the first round of the tournament where he will be pitted against Yuichi Sugita.

The snippet of the incident sparked criticism as well as a discourse on how some athletes treat ball kids as servants. Take a look.

https://twitter.com/tulipsmg/status/1219020834167193600

Too right. She's not a servant. She's there to do a job. He looked shocked when he was told to do it himself. Whattttt, peel it myself?!

— Mezza (@Mezza1976) January 19, 2020

Wow, such entitlement.

— Scchip (@shari______) January 19, 2020

Should of done this… pic.twitter.com/iIji4B3qTc

— Shane Berketa (@shaneberketa) January 20, 2020

The French, what else can you say!

— Springtuckian (@Springtuckian) January 20, 2020

Umpire was correct as hell in doing that. As a professional athlete , you don't treat a ballkid like that, as if she's beneath him or whatever. I don't care if you are a professional athlete. That was a disrespectful despicable act of arrogance.

— Key (@Key18720504) January 20, 2020

Perhaps this is why it is said that ‘a man’s character is most evident by how he treats those who are not in a position either to retaliate or reciprocate’.