Top-seeded French junior tennis player Michael Kouame slapped his opponent after losing in the first round of an ITF event, bringing to mind the Will Smith-Chris Rock altercation.
Top-seeded French player Michael Kouame slaps Raphael Nii Ankrah after losing (left), Will Smith allegedly slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars (right)
Tennis, of late, has become a wild place with the frequency of on-court drama gaining a major spike. At the ongoing ITF Juniors tournament in Accra, Ghana, top-seeded French tennis player, Michael Kouame surprisingly slapped his opponent, Raphael Nii Ankrah after losing, 2-6, 7-6, 6-7.
Meeting at the net to customarily shake hands, Kouame, the World No. 589 in the ITF Junior Rankings took everyone by surprise, especially his Ghanaian opponent by slapping him on the face after suffering a defeat in the first-round clash.
Number 1 seeded player Michael Kouame from France 🇫🇷 slaps Raphael Nii Ankrah 🇬🇭 after losing in the ongoing TGF ITF jnrs world tour at the Accra sports stadium pic.twitter.com/pj4WjfifXZ
— Kenneth without “O”🎾♐️ (@Kwesi_Gibson) April 4, 2022
The 15-year-old French player’s actions, thoroughly unacceptable as they are, is also a quick reminder of the drama that took place at the recently held 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles where Will Smith controversially slapped comedian Chris Rock on live television, after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada.
Only minutes after this incident took place on the stage, Will Smith walked away with the Oscar for Best Actor, winning it for his portraiture of Richard Williams in the sports biopic King Richard, which tells the story of tennis legends, Venus and Serena Williams.
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the #Oscars after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss while presenting the award for documentary feature.
Read more at https://t.co/0VT4GGR7UQ pic.twitter.com/DxKqENRfD3
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 28, 2022
While that may be a matter of the stage, the unfoldings on the tennis court, especially such actions from junior players,
are highly unexpected. That said, tennis has been in the news for such actions recently as well with top players like Alexander Zverev abusing the chair umpire at the Mexico Open to the regular drama of Nick Kyrgios on the court and even, Novak Djokovic, on the rare occasional racquet-breaking spree – acts of violence seem to be recurring in the usually etiquette-filled elite sport of tennis.
Alexander Zverev has been THROWN OUT of the Mexican Open for attacking the umpire's chair at the end of his doubles match 😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/CWhQ1r6kwj
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 23, 2022
Kouame’s slap immediately sparked a lot of unrest among the spectators and a scene of chaos unfurled at the Accra Stadium. Although Kouame has crashed out of the singles, he still remains to compete in the doubles match as it is yet to be known what disciplinary actions will be taken against him for this unruly and unsportsmanlike behaviour.
