French Open 2023: Miyu Kato triumphs in mixed doubles after being disqualified from women’s tournament.

Miyu Kato Wins French Open Mixed Doubles Title Despite Disqualification

Japanese tennis player, Miyu Kato, has won the French Open mixed doubles title alongside German partner Tim Puetz. This victory comes only four days after being disqualified from the women’s event for hitting a ball girl with a stray ball which was deemed “unjust” by many.

Kato and Puetz beat Bianca Andreescu of Canada and New Zealand’s Michael Venus in a nail-biting final that ended with an impressive score of 4-6, 6-4, and 10-6. The win marks her first Grand Slam championship since turning professional.

The Controversial Disqualification

In the women’s double last-16 match on Sunday at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, Miyu sent a cross-court shot towards her opponent but unfortunately hit the shoulder of one of the ball girls who appeared visibly distressed. After protests from their opponents (Marie Bouzkova from Czech Republic and Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo), they were disqualified despite initial warnings from umpires.

Miyu apologised to the affected girl and admitted how challenging it had been mentally for her over these past few days due to losing both prize money and ranking points as per penalty. However, she expressed gratitude towards those who supported her through this difficult time including coach Aldila Sutjiadi who she was playing alongside when she got disqualified in women’s doubles.

The Emotional Win

After the win, an emotional Miyu Kato said “It has been really challenging mentally for me in the past few days due to the unjust disqualification from the women’s doubles tournament. “To my coach, I thank [you] for always being with me when I was having a hard time. To Tim, I’m so glad to have you as a partner; I thank you for always supporting me and cheering me up.

Miyu expressed her hope that this win would be seen as redemption after what happened and emphasised how important it is to have positive energy around oneself during difficult times. She also mentioned her appeal against Roland Garros’ decision of disqualifying her along with Aldila Sutjiadi.

Final Thoughts

Kato became famous overnight with this title- winning victory especially considering how things went down earlier in the week but certainly did show true grit by coming back stronger than ever before! Nonetheless, she remains optimistic about potentially returning one day and claiming not only mixed doubles but also bagging herself women’s double finals trophy alongside Aldila Sutjiadi.