‘She’s smelling really bad’ – Brit tennis star tells umpire to get opponent to wear DEODORANT in shock outburst
HARRIET DART sensationally claimed her tennis rival STUNK and she should “wear deodorant”.
The British No4 was caught on court-side microphones attacking Lois Boisson’s personal hygiene during a 6-0 6-3 defeat in the first round of the Open de Rouen.
At a changeover, Dart, 28, rose from her chair and then told the official: “Can you tell her to wear deodorant?”
She then repeated the question, saying: “Because the smell.
“Can you tell her to wear deodorant? She smells really bad.”
The unkind public comments leave her potentially at risk of action for unsporting behaviour from the WTA, the sport’s governing body.
Dart – who played last weekend’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers – was swept aside in the opening set in 28 minutes by Boisson.
She put up more of a fight in the second set, but failed to win any of her six break points.
Wildcard Boisson made her first WTA Tour appearance of the season after struggling with injury.
Dart currently sits at 110 in the WTA world rankings.
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She was appearing in just her second clay-court match of the season.
The drama comes as Emma Raducanu prepares to return to front-line tennis competition next week in Madrid.
Since returning home from the Miami Open – where she lost last month in the quarter-finals to American world No3 Jessica Pegula – the Brit has focused on a training block behind-closed-doors.
This hiatus has meant she skipped the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers in Holland where Britain beat the hosts and Germany to secure their spot in the eight-team finals in China in September.
It has also meant she did not play at this week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart despite a previous contractual link to the title sponsors there.
Yet having had a fortnight to train at the National Tennis Centre, Raducanu, 22, is now going to play her first match on clay in the WTA event in the Spanish capital.
After that she will head to the Italian Open in Rome in early May with the clay-court campaign climaxing at the French Open in Paris later that month.