Kaja Juvan realized she could do a good deed after Anastasia Potapova broke a racket as the Slovenian picked up the Russian’s racket from the court and handed it to a fan as a souvenir.
Potapova, seeded at No. 23, suffered a shock defeat in the Australian Open first round after losing to Juvan. Juvan, ranked at No. 109 in the world, upset Potapova 6-1 6-4 in her opener at Melbourne Park.
Moments after losing the match, 22-year-old Potapova angrily destroyed her racket. After violently smashing the racket, Potapova left it in the middle of the court.
After shaking hands with Potapova at the net, Juvan, 23, picked up the racket and went courtside to give it to a fan.
Potapova smashed her racquet (one of many) on mp and left it in the middle of the court. thankfully Juvan had the decency afterwards to pick it up and give it to a fan pic.twitter.com/ZjFUDZyy6M
— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) January 15, 2024
Kaja Juvan© Australian Open
The lucky fan who was handed Potapova’s racket by Juvan
Responding to a video on X, Jack McArdle wrote “I am that fan” and uploaded a selfie of him holding Potapova’s broken racket.
Jack McArdle© Jack McArdle – X
In another post, McArdle called Juvan “a legend” and thanked her for “an awesome souvenir.” “She’s actually such a legend, just right place right time but an awesome souvenir,” McArdle wrote.
She’s actually such a legend, just right place right time but an awesome souvenir 🙂
— Jack McArdle (@JackMcArdle01) January 15, 2024
Potapova, who entered the match against Juvan as the favorite, routinely served out the opening game of the match. But that was all from Potapova in the first set as Juvan claimed three breaks in a row and won the next six games to clinch the opener in a very impressive way.
Kaja Juvan © Getty Images Sport – Phil Walter
After losing the first set, Potapova had a chance to break Juvan but missed out on her first two break points in the opening game of the second set. However, Potapova was also able to save Juvan’s break points in the second and fourth games.
Through the first nine games of the second set, Juvan led 5-4 but without breaks. Then in the 10th game – when Potapova was serving to stay in the match – Juvan opened 15-40 on the Russian’s serve. Juvan realized first match point, after which Potapova destroyed her racket.
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