During a third-round Wimbledon match, Daria Kasatkina experienced an unusual setback in her loss to Liudmila Samsonova due to an issue with her earring.
The incident occurred when Kasatkina, seeded 16th, hit a forehand return to the 19th-seeded Samsonova, and her earring got intertwined with her shirt mid-rally.
When Samsonova, 26, fired back, Kasatkina, 28, could not respond in time.
“You don’t see that every day,” commented a BBC broadcaster, as reported by Metro UK. “It’s quite unfortunate, particularly as she was so close in the game.”
Samsonova ultimately punched her ticket to the Round of 16 with the 6-2, 6-3 victory.
She last advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021, when she fell to eventual finalist Karolína Plíšková. Plíšková lost to Ashleigh Barty in the women’s singles final that year.
Kasatkina, a 2018 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, knew the challenge she was up against in Samsonova.
“I knew that it’s going to be very tough… she’s in great shape, winning a lot, especially on grass, and her game… It’s very good on this surface,” she said of Samsonova, as covered by The First Serve.
“Of course, I think I could do better on my side, but I also have to give her credit. She played a very, very good match.
“Her serve is one of the most dangerous ones on tour. A few times, I looked [at] the speed, it was about 170 miles per hour… We all know her game is super aggressive… I didn’t feel like she was giving me any gifts today.”
Samsonova will next face Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Monday.
Wimbledon runs through next Sunday, with the women’s singles final set for Saturday.
