FRENCH OPEN: EMOTIONAL MIYU KATO THANKS TENNIS WORLD FOR 'SUPPORT' AFTER DOUBLES DQ AND MIXED TRIUMPH<br /><br />FRENCH OPEN: 'TEARS OF JOY!' - MIYU KATO WINS MIXED DOUBLES TITLE AFTER CONTROVERSIAL DOUBLES DISQUALIFICATION<br />After controversial disqualification, Japan’s Miyu Kato wins French Open mixed doubles title<br /><br />On Sunday, the Japanese tennis star was in tears after being disqualified from the women’s doubles competition after inadvertently hitting a ball at a ball girl.<br />Fast-forward to Thursday and the 28-year-old won the French Open mixed doubles title with her German partner Tim Puetz.<br />The pair came from behind to beat Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus 4-6 6-4 [10-6] in the final and Kato addressed the crowd with a pre-prepared speech during the trophy ceremony.<br />“To my partner, Tim, I’m so glad you’re my partner. Thank you so much for always supporting me and always cheering me up,” an emotional Kato said, as Puetz held her microphone.<br />“To my coach, thank you for always being with me when I was having a hard time. It has been really challenging mentally for me the past few days due to the unjust disqualification from the women’s doubles.<br />“I want to thank the players, coaches and everyone for their heartfelt messages of support. I was able to use all the positive energy to move forward so I can be here today.”<br />Kato and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted after the Japanese player innocuously hit the ball to the back of the court and struck a ball girl.<br />Kato was seen crying on court after her disqualification and struggled to answer questions about the incident during an emotional press conference later in the week.<br />According to the grand slam rule book, players “shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball within the precincts of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up).”<br />The rule book states: “In all cases of default, the decision of the referee in consultation with the grand slam chief of supervisors shall be final and unappealable.”<br />A player who is defaulted loses all ranking points earned at the tournament, the rule book states, and all prize money earned at the tournament.<br />While wishing the ball girl well in her winning speech, Kato also confirmed she was appealing the decision to default her.<br />“I am looking forward to a positive outcome of the appeal so that I can receive my points and prize money,” she said, to much applause from the crowd.<br />After a testing week, Kato dealt expertly with the extra pressure of Thursday’s final and looked to the sky in relief after winning match point.<br />The victorious pair received a standing ovation from the French Open crowd, who have taken Kato in their hearts since the disqualification.
