Heather Dart fumes with umpire over ‘joke’ call in Katie Boulter defeat – ‘You’re embarrassing yourself’
By James Hilsum
Published 11/06/2024 at 10:15 GMT+1
It would be fair to say that Heather Dart did not take an overruled line call particularly well in her first-round defeat to Katie Boulter in an all-British clash at the Nottingham Open. Dart was involved in a heated exchange with umpire Kelly Rask and sarcastically offered her £50,000 to prove she was correct. The 27-year-old would subsequently issue a complaint to match referee Jane Harvey.
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Harriet Dart launched into an angry tirade against the umpire in her three-set defeat to Katie Boulter at the Nottingham Open on Monday.
Dart was beaten 7-6(5) 6-4 7-5 by defending champion Boulter in a clash of the top two Brits, but that only told part of the story.
The 27-year-old offered to bet Kelly Rask £50,000 that she was right when disputing a line call and told the official she was "embarrassing" in an extraordinary exchange.
This occurred halfway through the second set when a shot from Boulter was called out before subsequently being overruled by Rask.
This prompted Dart to say: “The ball is so far out, this is embarrassing, you’re embarrassing yourself. You should be embarrassed.”
She would then lose the replayed point and continued her rant, adding: “It was here, no joke, everyone here knows it.”
To which Rask replied: “Harriet, stop now or you’re going to get a code [violation], I’ve had enough now. That’s it.”
The drama continued after the conclusion of that game, when Dart then offered the tongue-in-cheek wager to Rask, and added: “I’ve got a reason to call the referee, because of the calling, I’d like them to watch.
“If we watch that back, I can promise you, I would back £50,000 that ball is out, I’d shake your hand now. It’s a joke how far that was out.”
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Dart would then make a complaint to referee Jane Harvey and felt Rask was "threatening" her with the code violation.
It may be the end of the road for Dart in Nottingham, but Boulter will continue her title defence against the winners of today's first-round clash between Viktorija Golubic and Rebecca Marino.
Boulter won her first WTA Tour title at this tournament last year, and has since followed that up with victory in San Diego after overcoming Marta Kostyuk in March.
Focus will now shift to another Brit on Tuesday afternoon when Emma Raducanu continues her comeback from double wrist and ankle surgery, when she faces Ena Shibahara in her Nottingham Open first-round clash.
The 21-year-old said she is in a "really fit place”, after being forced to pull out of the French Open last month.
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