A TENNIS star was lucky not to injure a fan at Queen’s after a freak incident.
Jakub Mensik took on Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16 in West London on Wednesday.
Despite taking the first set, the No8 seed – who beat Cameron Norrie in round one – suffered a shock defeat.
And the 19-year-old’s frustrations were clear to see when he netted a backhand on the run.
Mensik swatted his tennis racquet down towards the grass court – not down into the turf.
But as his arm swung through, the handle slipped from his grasp and flew out.
The racquet then bounced down into the grass and over the backboards into the front rows of the stand behind the Andy Murray Arena court.
Thankfully, the seats directly behind Mensik were vacant and therefore the racquet did not strike a spectator.
Instead, it was passed back by over the hoardings by a bloke in the crowd.
Had the racquet hit someone, Mensik would have almost certainly been defaulted – even though it would be an accident.
BBC Sport commentator John Lloyd said: “Uh oh, uh oh.
“That could have caused injury, there.
“He didn’t mean it – it slipped out of his hands on to the court.
“That could have hit the lady right in the third row and that would have been an automatic default.
“He’s very lucky, there.”
Mensik was handed a code violation for unsportsmanlike behaviour by British umpire James Keothavong.
Incredibly, it is not the first time Mensik has avoided being disqualified in very similar fashion.
At the 2024 Miami Open, he threw his racquet in anger and only just avoided hurtling the frame into a ballboy in “scary” scenes.
A year later, Mensik announced himself on the world stage by beating Novak Djokovic in the 2025 Miami Open final, his maiden ATP Tour crown and denying the Serbian his 100th career title.
And in another quirk, Mensik planned to pull out of the Miami Masters event because he was unwell before playing his first-round match… against Bautista Agut.
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