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The chair umpire that Marc Polmans hit in the face with the ball was Scotsman Ben Anderson, who was luckily confirmed to be "OK" after the shocking incident, via Stuart Fraser of The Times. On Tuesday, Polmans very angrily reacted to missing a match point during his Shanghai Masters qualifying match against Stefano Napolitano as he fired the ball out of anger.
Unfortunately, the ball proceeded to go in the chair umpire's direction and land directly into the umpire's face. The match ended in that exact moment as Polmans was instantly defaulted over his shocking act. According to The Times, a tournament spokesman said that chair umpire Anderson was “OK when he left the stadium." Also, the report revealed that Anderson had an ice pack applied to his nose and cheek.
Shocking scenes in Shanghai today as Australia’s Marc Polmans hits an umpire in the face with the ball after failing to convert a match point in his final round qualifier. Immediately defaulted
The umpire was Scotsman Ben Anderson.Thankfully he is “okay” https://t.co/gucHMfJIwo — Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) October 3, 2023
Polmans instantly disqualified after hitting the chair umpire with the ball
Against Napolitano, Polmans was inches away from winning the match and qualifying for the Shanghai Masters main draw.
At the moment of the disqualification, Polmans had a 7-6 (3) 6-6 (6) lead. The match started with Napolitano breaking Polmans in the first game of the match and then saving a break point in the following game for a 2-0 lead.
However, Napolitano's lead was short-lived as Polmans got the break back in the fourth game to tie the first set to two games apiece. After Napolitano missed out on four break points in the 11th game, the first set went into a tie-break, where Polmans opened a 4-1 lead before converting his first set point to win a tight opener.
After winning the first set, Polmans also started the second set with a 2-0 lead. Down by a set and a break, Napolitano got the break back in the sixth game. As no more breaks were seen in the set, the second set also had to be resolved in a tie-break.
In the tie-break, Polmans won the 11th point to take a 6-5 lead and clinch his first match point. After failing to realize his first match point, Polmans erupted and the match ended in a shocking way.