WATCH: Australian Open gets mercilessly bashed for “abusive labor practices” as snippets of ball kids cleaning the court goes viral

As rain interrupted play on Thursday, ball kids were put to work of drying the court.

WATCH: Australian Open gets mercilessly bashed for “abusive labor practices” as snippets of ball kids cleaning the court goes viral

Ball Kids drying court after rain at Australian Open (Image via X)

The 2024 Australian Open is up and running. While the tournament has the attention of the fans for all the right reasons, an incident on Thursday attracted criticism towards the authorities. As pictures showing ball kids drying the tennis court after a rain interruption went viral on social media, fans bashed the tournament authorities for “abusive labor practices”.

The fifth day started with a match between World No.1 Iga Swiatek and Danielle Collins. However, soon after the start of the game, a passing shower forced the game to be halted for some time. The play could not be resumed due to the wet court. However, it was resumed a few minutes later.

YouTube video

While everything seemed to be going smoothly, a picture of ball kids drying the court with towels surfaced on social media. This enraged the fans who could not believe that the little kids were asked to do such a job. Many were also baffled to see the use of towels as they felt that it was too outdated a technique.

FS Video

A few fans also questioned the authorities for not closing the roofs despite being aware of the rain threat. Check out the different sets of reactions to this viral picture of ball kids drying the court at the 2024 Australian Open.

Rain does not affect Iga Swiatek’s Australian Open ambitions

Despite a break due to rain, Iga Swiatek was unmoved in her ambition to win her maiden title Down Under. The Polish ace inched a step closer to winning her first Australian Open title as she beat Danielle Collins in three sets at the Rod Laver Arena.

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Iga Swiatek (Image via Australian Open)

Iga Swiatek beat Collins 6-4 3-6 6-4 to advance to the third round at the year’s first Grand Slam. The 22-year-old was on the verge of losing it but Swiatek held her focus and registered a win to sail through. She then talked about what went through her head when she was trailing in the deciding set.

Honestly, I was in the airport already. I wanted to fight until the end. I knew that she played just perfectly, but it would be hard for anybody to keep that level. I wanted to be ready when more mistakes were going to come from the other side.I just wanted to push then, and I did that at the end. I'm really proud of myself because it wasn't easy
Iga Swiatek said after the win over Danielle Collins. (H/T: Australian Open)

The Polish ace next faces Linds Noskova of the Czech Republic in the third round.

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