British tennis star issues apology after saying her opponent ‘smells bad’ on court

Harriet Dart has posted an apology on social media after calling for her opponent to ‘wear deodorant’ during a match.

The British female no.4 was beaten 6-0 6-3 by wildcard entrant Lois Boisson in the first round of the Rouen Open on Tuesday.

During a second set changeover, Dart asked the umpire: “Can you tell her to wear deodorant? She’s smelling really bad.”

French player Boisson was seemingly too far away to hear the comment when she was returning to the court before eventually winning the match.

But Dart has since apologised for her choice of words with a post on an 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. Harriet.”

Dart made her WTA debut at the Eastbourne International in 2015 and is currently ranked 110th in the world.

The 28-year-old kickstarted her Grand Slam career in 2018 when she entered the Wimbledon main draw as a wildcard.

She most recently reached the second round of the Australian Open.

Dart also reached the Wimbledon mixed doubles final in 2021 with Joe Salisbury, but they lost to Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk.

Before the Rouen Open, she was part of the Great Britain squad that qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup finals.

They were drawn against Germany and the Netherlands in Group F, finishing top of the standings by beating both opponents.

Dart played with Olivia Nicholls in the doubles against Germany but despite defeat, Great Britain were already victorious.

Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter won their respective singles matches to help guide them through to the finals.

Great Britain will be joined by China, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Spain, Ukraine and the United States in Shenzhen this September.