Tennis player Arthur Rinderknech has seen better days. And he was winning — but it may have felt like a loss. That's because Rinderknech was forced to call it quits from his second-round match at the French Open after injuring his left foot.
How did it happen? Well, he kicked the advertising sign on the side of the court.
In other words, he only has himself to blame.
"Rinderknech, who is ranked No. 69 in the world, was playing Tomas Martin Etcheverry in a late-night match on Court 7 at Roland Garros on Thursday," wrote Tom Hamilton of ESPN. "In front of vocal local support, Rinderknech found himself 2-1 up in sets but suffered a meltdown in the fourth set.
"Despite Rinderknech holding the overall advantage in the match, frustration got the better of him at 2-0 down in the fourth and he kicked out at an advertising hoarding, injuring himself in the process."
Yeah. Way to go, dude.
Rinderknech tried to continue to play but clearly struggled. Etcheverry eventually claimed the match 3-6, 6-7 (8), 6-1, 5-0 as a walkover to advance to the third round.
Reports suggest that Rinderknech suffered cartilage damage in his toe. He wondered if it had been broken.
"I feel very good physically, but I just messed up," Rinderknech told French newspaper L'Equipe. "I kicked into the wall, a little annoyed, at 2-0 when I got broken in the fourth set. I don't really know at the moment, but I hope I didn't break my toe. Afterwards, I could no longer put my foot on the ground."
Ain't that a kick in the crotch? Or at least a kick to an advertising sign.
