Just In: US Open star smashes ball against ball boys’ head – and then hits another
Dutch tennis star Tallon Griekspoor accidentally smashed a ball at a ball boy during his first-round loss to Ben Shelton at the US Open. To make matters worse, Griekspoor later hit a ball girl with his high-speed return. American No. 1 Shelton was carried by a loud Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd as he dumped out the Dutchman 1-6, 6-1, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Yet, it was Griekspoor’s return in the final set that caught the eye as a ball boy crouched at the side of the net was fiercely struck in the head by the player’s rapid shot. Fortunately, the youngster took the blow like a champion and immediately jumped back into action with no immediate damage. Griekspoor, 30, also accidentally hit a girl standing on the back of the court, such was the ferocity and wayward nature of some of his shots.
While Griekspoor raised eyebrows with his powerful returns at the US Open, it’s actually Shelton, 23, who is well known for his frighteningly fast serves.
During his match with Otto Virtanen at Wimbledon this year, the big-serving American caught a ballboy off-guard with a strong ace, accidentally hitting him in the midriff.
The fourth seed, who was knocked out at SW19 by Virtanen, put his hand up straight away and was heard asking the ball boy, “Are you OK?” The ball boy assured Shelton he was fine before the US star returned to the baseline to continue playing.
In the past, Shelton’s serves have reached an astonishing 151mph. Australian Sam Groth recorded the fastest serve in professional tennis at 163.7mph during the 2012 Busan Open while John Isner recorded 157.2mph at the 2016 Davis Cup, an official ATP main-tour record.
Shelton has never won the US Open. He reached the semi-finals of the 2023 edition before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The 23-year-old will face Polish star Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday in the competition’s second round.
After his win over Griekspoor, Shelton admitted he had to overcome a small bout of the jitters. “I started off with a little bit of nerves tonight,” Shelton said in his on-court interview. “I found my rhythm at some point through the second set.
“Obviously a lot of credit to Tallon, he’s a difficult player to player to play. He doesn’t give you a lot of rhythm. He has an attacking game style and I found things really difficult for the first set tonight.
