WTA player aplogises to Shuai Zhang after umpire controversy

Zhang was up local hopeful Toth on the clay courtesy of Hungary on Tuesday. Locked at five games all in the opening set, the controversy started when Zhang struck an apparent winner that was called in, but overruled by the chair umpire. When the Chinese native questioned the call, the chair umpire scampered over to the mark and backed up the out call, much to everyone's surprise.

On the other side of the net, an irate Zhang gestured toward the mark, which clearly showed the ball had clipped the line. Television coverage confirmed as much, but this was no help to the world number 45. Zhang wanted the match referee to intervene, but the chair umpire stood firm on her decision. A couple of points later, Toth walked over to the mark and erased it with her foot, cueing more protest from Zhang who was met with boos from the crowd. Toth then went on the win the game. A shaken Zhang called for her physio and began to weep courtside, retiring from the match in a pool of tears. To rub salt in Zhang's wounds, Toth celebrated seconds later, raising her hands in the air while her home crowd cheered.

After being soundly beaten in her Round of 16 match on Thursday, a regretful Toth finally apologised for the incident.

"I did not think that my first WTA success would cause such a big storm, and I'm extremely sorry for what happened," said the 20-year-old in a video posted on the tournament's official Instagram account.

"I respect Zhang Shuai as a person just as a much as an athlete. It was never my intention to disrespect, upset, or hurt anyone”least of all Zhang Shuai.

"I do realise I should not have celebrated the way I celebrated after the match, and I'm sorry for that. I got caught up in my emotions and in the heat of the match, and I got caught up by the moment. I focused on tennis, and I didn't want to win like that. I hope that, in the future, I will have the opportunity to sit down and talk with Zhang Shuai and tell how badly I feel that our match ended this way.

"I hope that Shuai Zhang feels better and that we will soon see her back because she's an unbelievable player, very respectful and a great person. There is a lot to learn from her, and we should all stay respectful to each other no matter what."

While Zhang has impressed in doubles - recently reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon - 2023 has been a difficult year for her on the singles court. The two-time grand slam doubles winner is 4-16 for the year and is currently on a 13-loss streak.