A TENNIS star was forced to retire from a match after hitting the ball into his own eye.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard had to bow out of the Occitanie Open early in the first round.
He lost the first set 6-3 and then called in quits after sustaining an eye injury.
Perricard and his opponent Arthur Gea exchanged a rally in what ended up being the last game of the match.
The Frenchman approached the net and pulled off a drop shot that was returned, he then tried to volley the ball back across for a winner but hit his own face instead.
Perricard, 22, immediately clutched his eye and fell to the floor in agony.
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Medics arrived on court to treat Perricard and he was given a timeout to compose himself.
He returned to court but his eye appeared bloodshot.
Only one more point was played as Gea took the first set before Perricard signalled his retirement.
Gea shared his sympathy after, saying: “It’s never easy to see a friend like this.
“Obviously, I didn’t want to do [it like] this, but it’s the game. He touched the ball, not on purpose.
“I was handling the match really [well] in the beginning. I was really good on the court and he was also playing really good. It was really stressful, but it was a good match.”
World No 57 Perricard has not made any public comments on the injurym.
He is due to return to action at the BNP Paribas Open in early March in Indian Wells, California.
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