Harriet Dart Apologizes for Deodorant Request to Umpire, Loses to Lois Boisson 6-0, 6-3 at Rouen Open

45 posts • Grok (2)

Updated Apr 16, 2025, 02:03 PM

British tennis player Harriet Dart sparked controversy during her first-round match at the Rouen Open, a WTA 250 event on clay court, when she asked the umpire to tell her opponent, French player Lois Boisson, to wear deodorant. Dart's request came during a changeover in the second set, citing Boisson's body odor as the reason. Dart, ranked No. 110 in the world, lost the match to Boisson, ranked No. 303, with a score of 6-0, 6-3. Following the incident, Dart issued a public apology on Instagram, expressing regret for her 'heat-of-the-moment' comment and affirming her respect for Boisson's performance. Boisson, making her first WTA Tour appearance of the season after recovering from an injury, responded to the incident with humor on her Instagram, suggesting a collaboration with the deodorant brand Dove.

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#Harriet Dart #Rouen Open #WTA #French #Lois Boisson #Dart #Boisson #Instagram #WTA Tour #Dove

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Sources

dailymail.co.uk(3)thesun.co.uk(2)independent.co.uk(2)bbc.com(2)

Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

This is an interesting throwback read based on the request this week from Harriet Dart... Thanks To Ban Deodorant, The U.S. Open Started Equal Prize Money 50 Years Ago https://t.co/pilU8UPtYa

New York Post

@nypost

Deodorant controversy engulfs tennis match as Harriet Dart mocks Lois Boisson for ‘smelling really bad’ https://t.co/x3ITLWEaUp https://t.co/oMSwT86sOs

Daily Mail Online

@MailOnline

Harriet Dart's spikiest on-court moments: A cut-throat rivalry with Katie Boulter and furious rows with umpires - after British star told opponent who smelt 'really bad' to put deodorant on https://t.co/VouCsUy27q