Tim Henman was disqualified from Wimbledon after leaving ball girl in tears
In a moment that shocked British tennis, Tim Henman, the future darling of the All England Club, became the first player in the Open Era to be disqualified from Wimbledon after an unfortunate incident that left a young ball girl in tears. The episode, which unfolded during a doubles match, remains one of the most infamous moments in Henman's otherwise illustrious career and a stark reminder of the fine line between passion and penalty on the court.
It was 1995, and a 20-year-old Henman was paired with fellow Brit Jeremy Bates in a first-round doubles match at SW19. During a critical tie-break on Court 14, Henman's emotions got the better of him. After missing a net-cord shot, he lashed out in frustration, striking a ball from his pocket with force. Tragically, the ball struck 16-year-old ball girl Caroline Hall directly in the ear, reportedly at a speed of 92mph. The young girl burst into tears, and the crowd fell into stunned silence. The incident prompted immediate action from umpire Wayne McKewan, who summoned tournament referee Alan Mills. Under the rules of the All England Club, players must remain in control of their actions on court, and Henman's errant shot was deemed unsportsmanlike conduct.
Despite his protests and insistence that the act was unintentional, the decision was final: Henman and Bates were defaulted, marking the first disqualification in Wimbledon's Open Era history. The crowd booed the ruling, but the players left the court, leaving a dark cloud over Henman's early Wimbledon legacy.
"I was not happy at losing the point and was angry," Henman later admitted at a late-night press conference, visibly shaken and on the verge of tears himself. "It was a complete accident, but I'm responsible for my actions."
In a heartwarming gesture the following day, Henman sought to make amends. Meeting Caroline on a practice court, he presented her with a large bouquet of flowers, even giving her a kiss on the cheek for photographers - a moment dubbed "the henpeck" by the press.
Caroline, a convent pupil, handled the attention with grace. "It was a bit of a shock, and my head is quite sore," she said. "But I know it was a complete accident. There's no hard feelings."
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The incident, while a low point, did not define Henman's relationship with Wimbledon. He made it to the quarter-finals of the singles competition the following year - establishing himself as British No. 1 in the process - before going on to reach four semi-finals in five years between 1998 and 2002.
Reflecting on the 1995 disqualification years later, Henman, now a beloved BBC pundit, said it ultimately fuelled him to perform. "I remember thinking, 'Wow, I better have some half-decent results [next year] because I don't want to be remembered as the first person to be disqualified at Wimbledon,'" he told the Telegraph in 2022.
"And then in 1996, that was when I made the quarter-finals for the first time. And I played my first match on Centre Court and I beat the French Open champion [Yevgeny Kafelnikov]. That was definitely when my life changed and I became known to the British public and that affiliation with Wimbledon began."
He would go on to become a national icon, with fans affectionately dubbing the grassy slope inside the All England Club "Henman Hill". Similarly, the phrase "Come on, Tim" would regularly echo around Centre Court for years, even after Henman's retirement.
Though he never managed to end Britain's long wait for a Wimbledon champion, Henman's determined and spirited performances endeared him to the public, securing his place in the nation's heart - until even his most infamous early misstep was gently swept under the turf.