Jenson Brooksby ruefully went to the ball boy and apologized.
He scared the man with a dangerous racket throw and rekindled a discussion that has been smoldering since Alexander Zverev's freak out in Acapulco: Do the ruthless tennis stars get away with their missteps too easily?
Recently, the incidents have increased.
First Zverev shook his head with his wild attack on the referee's chair in February, then Nick Kyrgios forced a ball boy to take cover last week.
Well Brooksby, who easily hit a ball boy with a racquet throw at the Masters in Miami.
The 21-year-old only received a point penalty for his offense in the 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 first-round win over Argentinian Federico Coria.
“Ball children almost have their heads or legs cut off.
Referees shy away from swinging bats coming their way," Rennae Stubbs wrote on Twitter.
The former world number one in doubles from Australia asked the ATP to act.
Brooksby posted a photo of himself with the ball boy after the match and apologized, as did the other "sinners" before.
"I will learn from this and continue to grow on and off the pitch," he wrote on Instagram.
When the score was 4-1 in the third set, he had thrown his racquet away, it hit the hard court twice and then touched the leg and foot of the ball boy, who was startled and ducked for cover.
His opponent Coria had little understanding for the action.
"If you attack someone on the field, that should mean a direct disqualification," said the 30-year-old, who discussed the scene with the referee: "If I do that or any Latino, then we won't play for three months. "
In the current case, only a consequence of an injury would have led to the immediate end of the game, as in the case of Novak Djokovic, who hit a linesman with a ball at the US Open in 2020.
Zverev was disqualified in Acapulco, but was allowed to compete again in the next tournament with a fine and an eight-week suspended ban.
For many experts, the bar was set too low with the punishment.