American tennis player Peyton Stearns won hearts at the Australian Open 2024 on Monday when she helped a ballgirl who was struggling to cope in the extreme heat in Melbourne.
Stearns's first-round match against 14th-seeded Russian Daria Kasatkina had to be stopped for a brief moment in the second set as the ball girl almost fainted in the 31 degree heat at Melbourne Park.
Stearns, who lost the first set 2-6, was leading 5-3 in the second when she noticed the struggling ball girl sitting on the side of the court under an umbrella.
Stearns quickly rushed to her chair, picked up her ice towel and gave it to the ball girl to wrap it around her neck. The crowd present inside the Kia Arena applauded Stearns for her gesture.
"Oh, wow, what an act," the female commentator on air was heard saying.
Stearns loses to Kasatkina
Stearns was on set point before the stoppage and managed to clinch it after the match resumed.
But the 22-year-old couldn't continue the winning momentum and lost the deciding set (2-6) to crash out of the tournament in the first round.
Kasatkina will next face another American in the second round in Sloane Stephens, who defeated local player Olivia Gadecki 6-3, 6-1 in her first round clash.
