The video of the teenage tennis player Sara Bejlek, who won a match in US Open 2022 qualifying over the weekend before making her Grand Slam debut on Tuesday, caused a social media controversy this week.
Video of the celebration has since gone viral with one video on Twitter being watched more than 130,000 times.
In the video, Bejlek celebrates her win by shaking the hands of her opponent and the referee before stepping up to hug a man identified as her father.
According to reports, Bejlek’s father hugged her on lap, kissed her on the cheek and lips, and touched her butt.
“There’s absolutely no reason to touch a 16 yo girl on her butt like that. It’s beyond inappropriate. As the video progressed it got worse and worse.” a fan tweeted.
“It is pretty common in Czechia. Not something I would do, but many men just don’t think about it in a sexual way. Google our Easter traditions, you might be shocked.” another fan tweeted.
Meanwhile Bejlek said she and her father will no longer be celebrating the same way they at the US Open.
“It was a spontaneous reaction of the whole team. We rejoiced. It may certainly seem inconvenient and uncomfortable to some, but we have already discussed it with the team. It won’t happen again.” Bejlek said.
“Dad is my dad and always will be. And I’ve known the coach since I was 8 years old. He tapes me, he massages me.”
“If something similar happened in the Czech Republic, no one would deal with it. But since we are in America, everyone comments on it.” she added.
Bejlek’s journey to attend the official Grand Slam tournament stopped in the first round of the US Open 2022. The 16-year-old girl made her US Open main draw debut on Monday, losing to Ludmilla Samsonova in the first round, 6-1, 6-3.
