Australian Open 2018: CoCo Vandeweghe Receives Time Violation Over Banana

In a bizarre incident, the women's World No.9 Vandeweghe received a time violation for waiting "too long" for a banana.

New Delhi: In a bizarre incident, the women’s World No.9 CoCo Vandeweghe, during her straight-sets loss to Hungary’s Timea Babos in the women’s singles first round at the Australian Open, received a time violation for waiting “too long” for a banana mid-way through the match.

After going down in the first set 6-7 (4-7) in a gripping tie-break, Vandeweghe requested some courtside fruit. 

“I asked for a banana at the end of the set and they didn’t have any on the court,” she said.

“So I tried to wait for it but the chair umpire deemed that it was not a good enough reason to wait and he gave me a time violation for trying to wait for a banana.”

When the match resumed, Babos dominated play and took the second set at 6-2.

Although the first round exit was considered a huge shock after the 26-year-old made the semi-finals of the tournament last year, Vandeweghe explained she had been suffering from illness in the lead up to the match.

“I’ve had the flu since about (last) Sunday,” Vandeweghe said.

“It’s the first time I have been out of bed in four days. I tried my best… but she played really well.” (With IANS inputs)