An athlete’s ability to harness their emotions, particularly in the heat of the moment of their respective sports, is vital to success.
Unfortunately for Australian tennis player Marc Polmans, who had an opportunity to close out his Shanghai Masters qualifying match against Stefano Napolitano on Tuesday, a loss of composure proved to result in the end of his run at the tournament.
Up 6–6 (6–5) in the second-set tiebreak after winning the first set 7–6, Polmans, who is ranked No. 140 in the world, struck his return volley into the net. What happened next proved catastrophic, as Polmans smashed the ball out of frustration out of play and accidentally into the face of chair umpire Ben Anderson.
