The Wimbledon match between American 12th seed Tommy Paul and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik was full of excitement, but one particular moment left a fan wincing in pain. During the third-round match earlier this month, Paul unleashed a 96 mph serve that went astray, hitting a spectator named Mel Merrett directly in the crotch.
Merrett, a 51-year-old father of two from Orpington, South East London, was sitting courtside when the incident occurred. “I’d just started to relax and spread out a bit,” he told The Sun. “Everyone around me was cheering the point. No one except my friend really noticed I had been hit in my balls.”
The impact was immediate and excruciating. “I was in so much agony I couldn’t even pick up the tennis ball,” Merrett added. “What made it worse is the BBC captured it live on TV, so all my mates have seen it. It’s still throbbing now.”
Despite the painful experience, Merrett appeared to take the incident in stride, even though his friends found the situation hilarious. “It’s certainly reduced many of my friends to tears of laughter despite my real tears of pain,” he said.
The Wimbledon match continued, with Paul emerging victorious in three straight sets. However, the American’s success was short-lived, as he was knocked out of the tournament just days later by Spanish defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, who clinched a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory, acknowledged the differences in playing conditions between the courts. “I felt the difference playing on Centre Court and on Court One. The grass is different,” he said. “Obviously, I feel like it was more sand on Court One than Centre Court. I didn’t feel comfortable at all playing on Court One with the conditions on it.”
The tennis ace takes on Daniil Medvedev on centre court today (July 12).
