French tennis player Lois Boisson has responded to Harriet Dart’s on-court claim that “she smells really bad” with a social media post that pokes fun at the incident.
During a change of ends in Tuesday’s match at the Rouen Open, Dart asked the umpire: “Can you tell her [Boisson] to wear deodorant because she smells really bad?” Her comments were picked up by a courtside microphone and quickly attracted attention and criticism on social media.
Dart later apologised on Instagram for the comments made during her 6-0, 6-3 defeat by Boisson, who responded on the same platform. The 21-year-old posted an edited image of herself on court holding a can of Dove deodorant. “@dove apparently need a collab,” wrote the Frenchwoman, accompanied by two laughing emojis.
Boisson, who is ranked No 303 in the world and entered the event as a wildcard, will face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, who beat Italy’s Nuria Brancaccio 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday, in the last 16. Dove have yet to officially respond to Boisson’s suggestion of an online collaboration.
After the incident, Dart posted an apology on her Instagram story. “Hey everyone, I want to apologise for what I said on court today, it was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret,” Dart said.
“That’s not how I want to carry myself, and I take full responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today. I’ll learn from this and move forward.”
The Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios, who is no stranger to controversy himself, weighed in on the debate on X, writing: “Saying this when you are down and getting snipped is wild”.
