by Ian Marshall, Editor

Correctly the umpire immediately summoned the referee, Marta Szily, who had no alternative other than to disqualify Zhou Yu.

Regulation 3.4.2.4 states: A racket shall not be replaced during an individual match unless it is accidentally damaged so badly that it cannot be used; if this happens the damaged racket shall be replaced immediately by another which the player has brought with him or her to the playing area or one which is handed to him or her in the playing area.

The racket was not damaged thus Marta Szily proceeded.

Regulation 3.5.2.8: The referee shall have power to disqualify a player from a match, an event or a competition for seriously unfair or offensive behaviour, whether reported by the umpire or not; as he or she does so he or she shall hold up a red card; for less serious offenses which do not justify disqualification, the referee may decide to report such an offense to a Disciplinary Panel.

The official outcome is that Zhou Yu is suspended from Thursday 17th January to Wednesday 17th April; Ma Jungfeng from Thursday 17th January until Sunday 17th February.

Disqualification of Zhou Yu: Referee’s Report (Sunday 20th January)