16.04.2025 16:20
British tennis player Harriet Dart asked her French opponent Lois Boisson to use deodorant during their match at the Open de Rouen, saying she "smelled bad." This incident drew significant backlash on social media, and Dart later had to apologize. Boisson responded to Dart's apology humorously, implying that they should make a sponsorship deal by tagging a deodorant brand.
British tennis star Harriet Dart had to apologize after saying during a match last Tuesday that her French opponent "smelled bad" and asking the umpire to "tell her to use deodorant."
In the Open de Rouen tournament in France, Dart faced French tennis player Lois Boisson and lost the first set 6-0 without winning a game. At the beginning of the second set, Dart made a rather strange request to the umpire.
"Can you tell her to use deodorant?" asked the British tennis player. "She really smells very bad."
Dart, who lost the match 6-0, 6-3 and was eliminated from the tournament, later apologized on social media for these words she said "in a moment of anger."
Dart wrote in her Instagram post: "Hello everyone. I want to apologize for the words I said on the court today. This was a comment made in the heat of the moment that I truly regret. I do not want to represent myself this way and I fully take responsibility for what I did. I have great respect for Lois's performance and fight today."
French tennis player Boisson responded to the apology in a rather humorous way.
Next to a photo taken during the match, she placed a digitally edited Dove deodorant box and tagged the brand, sharing the note on Instagram: "@dove it seems we need to make a commercial deal." Adding praying hands and smiling face emojis to her post, Boisson chose to add humor to the situation.
Previously, British tennis player Dart had reached the third round at Wimbledon twice in 2019 and 2024, and she faced significant backlash from tennis fans on social media for this behavior. Some users even argued that she should be punished.
On Twitter (X), one user wrote, "Dart should definitely be punished," while another commented, "If this is true, it's really shameful."
Another user said, "I thought I misheard, but she really said that," while another reacted, "This is completely unacceptable behavior from Dart. Very disrespectful."
Harriet Dart was a member of the Great Britain national team that advanced to the Billie Jean King Cup finals by defeating Germany and the Netherlands over the weekend. The team managed to secure its place in the finals despite former US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrawing from the squad at the last minute.
Such behaviors that are inconsistent with sportsmanship always attract attention and criticism in a sport like tennis, where respect and elegance are traditionally valued.