Johanna Konta refuses to shake hands with umpire following final defeat

Johanna Konta refuses to shake hands with umpire following final defeat

A furious Johanna Konta refused to shake hands with umpire Paula Vieira Souza after a narrow loss to Ashleigh Barty in the final of the Nature Valley Open in Nottingham.

The British number one had battled back from 4-1 down in the decider and had Barty under pressure on her serve when a shot from the Australian appeared to land long, but neither the line judge nor Souza called it out.

Konta confronted Souza, saying: “It’s an absolute joke. You’re making decisions that affect our lives. Do you fully understand that?”

Johanna Konta reacts to the line call that led her to refuse to shake umpire Paula Vieira Souza's hand
Johanna Konta reacts to the line call that led her to refuse to shake umpire Paula Vieira Souza’s hand (Mike Egerton/PA)

Several minutes passed before she returned for the trophy ceremony, although she would not say whether she was complaining about what had happened.

It is not the first time the 27-year-old has refused to shake an umpire’s hand, and she said: “At 4-4 in the third set, that’s quite an important time of any match. It’s a difficult position to be in.

“I definitely burned through quite a bit of energy at that moment in time. But, except for one loose shot (in the last game), I don’t think I did too much wrong. Obviously I’m a little bit sad I could not come through with the win today but I’m also taking a lot of positives from this week in general.”

Konta lost in the final in Nottingham for the second successive year
Konta lost in the final in Nottingham for the second successive year (Mike Egerton/PA)

She showed impressive resilience here, though, withstanding strong pressure to take the second set and then fighting back in the decider against the top seed and a player regarded as one of the best grass-court exponents.

Konta will hope to build on the positive things in her game in a very tough opening match at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham on Tuesday against defending champion Petra Kvitova.

Konta’s defeat made it a double British disappointment against Australia after Dan Evans lost 7-6 (7/4) 7-5 to 19-year-old Alex De Minaur in the men’s final earlier.

Dan Evans slips over during his defeat by Alex De Minaur
Dan Evans slips over during his defeat by Alex De Minaur (Mike Egerton/PA)

Evans, who now heads to Queen’s Club, said: “It was a good level. I had my chances. It’s been a great week leading up to the bigger tournament. He was relentless. That match there has pretty much told me I’m there or thereabouts.”

Despite his excellent form, Evans said he is not expecting to be given a Wimbledon wild card and would be prepared to miss the chance to play at the All England Club if he does well at Queen’s.

If he is not given either a main draw or qualifying wild card, he would have to go through the wild card play-off, which gives lower-ranked British players the chance to earn a spot in qualifying and begins on Wednesday.

Dan Evans is waiting to find out whether he will be given a Wimbledon wild card
Dan Evans is waiting to find out whether he will be given a Wimbledon wild card (Mike Egerton/PA)

The first batch of wild cards will be announced on Wednesday, with Evans, who will be ranked around 340 on Monday, the biggest conundrum.

The former British number two’s form on grass is comfortably the best of any home man so far, but he added: “I’ve had easily the worst past of any British player. They’ve got their criteria. If I don’t fit it, I don’t fit it.”

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