Kato’s Redemption: French Open Triumph
Image credit: My Khel
Japanese tennis player Miyu Kato redeemed herself at the French Open 2023 by coming back strongly from her doubles disqualification to win the mixed doubles title on Thursday (June 8). After winning her maiden Grand Slam title, Kato also slammed the controversial decision after she and her partner Aldila Sutjidi were disqualified when the former unintentionally hit a ball girl. The incident happened during their third-round women’s doubles game on Sunday (June 4) at Court 14 against Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo. Kato’s ball hit a ball girl on the other end of the court.
The entire episode unexpectedly became one of the biggest stories of the tournament, with players and coaches past and present criticising the decision as too harsh. Kato was at least allowed to continue in the mixed with German partner Tim Puetz, and they ensured a happy ending to the tournament by defeating Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6 6-4 (10-6) in the final. It was the maiden grand slam win for both the players. Kato had been too upset to speak about the disqualification in English but prepared a speech to read out on the court. Fighting back her tears after win, the 28-year-old said: “It has been really challenging mentally for me the past few days due to the unjust disqualification from the women’s doubles.”
Re-reported from the story originally published in My Khel
