Jodie Burrage stunned by unusual incident at a tennis match in Eastbourne

British tennis player Jodie Burrage was stunned after losing a point against reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krjcikova in an unusual at the Eastbourne Open. 

In the round of 16 at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament, the tennis ball surprisingly slipped through a tiny gap in the net and bounced onto the Briton’s side of the court, giving the point to her opponent. 

This happened at 15-15 on Krejcikova’s serve, when Burrage hit a forehand to her opponent’s side that appeared to have gone into the net and led to confusion on which athlete must have the point. 

Annabel Croft in the commentary on the BBC said: “No way… ‘I’m not quite sure how that went over? It’s meant to be a British net! That is extraordinary.” 

Burrage then approached umpire Marija Cicak, who initially declared that the ball “went over” the net. However, Krejcikova acknowledged it was unusual and conceded the point to Burrage, making the umpire overturn her decision. 

The results of the match 

After the unfortunate incident, Burrage took the second set with a score of 6-4. However, she lost the final set in a tiebreak. Krejcikova managed to save three match points and secured her win with the decider’s final scoreline of 7-6(3). 

In her previous match, Burrage defeated Moyuka Uchijima of Japan in the first round of the tournament. This was her first WTA Tour victory on the grass surface this season after she faced defeat at the HSBC Championships and Nottingham Open.

After the Eastbourne Open, Burrage will prepare for her Wimbledon journey as a wildcard. A social media post shared by Summus Sports stated: “📢Exciting announcement! 🎾 Jodie Burrage has been granted a wildcard entry into both the singles and doubles draws at Wimbledon 2025 @wimbledon . 🍓🥂👏 We can’t wait to see her back on the grass, competing on one of tennis’ biggest stages!” 

Netizens expressed their support in the comments section. One netizen said: “Ok Jodie!! Let’s do this! Rooting for you to cause an upset! ❤️” 

Another fan declared:  “Thousands of people believe in you, however you have to believe in yourself. You’ve got this Jodie! Go get what’s yours”

More netizens stated: “You’re amazing, Jodie! 🙌🏾😊”, and “Congratulations. Hope to see you do well in Wimbledon. Good luck” 

Wimbledon 2025 will run from June 30 to July 13. The tournament will begin with two days of Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ singles matches, followed by the start of the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ doubles, and lastly the Mixed Doubles.