CoCo Vandeweghe had gotten her first code violation earlier for time violation/civil disobedience: refusing to take court without eating a banana first. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/6Opg7xon2N
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 15, 2018
Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Women's tennis player Coco Vandeweghe received a code violation at the Australian Open because she refused to restart play, due to not having bananas.
The No. 9 ranked player in the world lost her round of 128 match 7-6, 6-2 to Hungarian Timea Babos Sunday at Hisense Arena in Melbourne.
After falling in the first set, Vandeweghe took a seat in her chair. She then had a conversation with chair umpire Fergus Murphy about why she wasn't ready to play.
"I'm waiting for the banana. How are they not on court? It's not my fault," she said, according to a video shot by the New York Times.
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The umpire then asked her to resume play.
"But why do I have to play under a different set of rules? But I don't have to make myself uncomfortable because it's ill prepared."
Vandeweghe also called the umpire "rude."
She refused to return to play until the bananas were delivered, continuing the exchange with Murphy. When they came, she asked the umpire if she could take a bite.
Vandeweghe received a second code violation for slamming her racket to the ground and appearing to swear at Babos later in the match.
Babos said that Vandeweghe always loses her temper during their matchups.
"She always does that [loses her temper]," Babos said, according to the BBC. "A couple of racquets are broken every match, this time it was I believe a time violation, but I'm not sure."
"The second one I believe was an insult against me. If the umpire heard it then it must have been this."
The upsets continue...@TimeaBabos ousts last year's semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe 7-6(4) 6-2.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/sACpoOV8uR
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 15, 2018
Vandeweghe addressed the banana issue in her post match comments.
"It wasn't that big of a deal," she told reporters. "I asked for a banana at the end of the set, which is quite normal that I would ask for a piece of fruit. And they didn't have any on court so I was just trying to wait for what I asked for to come. The chair umpire deemed that it wasn't a good enough reason to wait for anything and so I was just trying to be professional in that setting and he decided otherwise and gave me a time violation because I was trying to wait for a banana."
