Tenth seed Coco Vandeweghe has been slammed after she called her opponent a "f---ing bitch", smashed her racquet and refused to play in her Australian Open match ... all because there were no bananas on court.
The 26-year-old blamed her on-court tantrum on a bout of the flu, but tennis fans say the New York-born athlete should be fined for her "disgusting attitude" during the round-one game on Monday afternoon.
Vandeweghe was given two code violations for delay of game and unsportsmanlike conduct before Hungarian opponent Timea Babos knocked her out in two sets.
During a break in play, Vandeweghe argued with umpire Fergus Murphy, defying his instructions to resume the match until she was delivered bananas.
"How are they not on court? It's not my fault," she said. "I don't want to play under a different set of rules. I don't have to make myself uncomfortable because the court is ill-prepared."
When Murphy told Vandeweghe she had to play within the time allocated to her match, she accused the umpire of being "rude" and ignored him.
"They're here now, do you mind if I take a bite?" she asked when a ball-kid finally fetched a bunch of the the potassium-loaded fruits.
???????? @CoCoVandey not happy that bananas weren't available at the end of the 1st set. She receives a code violation for delaying the game. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/EbTvJp9h0N??? #7TENNIS (@7tennis) January 15, 2018
"No, you don't have time," replied Murphy, but Vand
eweghe proceeded to ignore him, unpeeling a banana.
After a formal warning for delaying the game, Vandeweghe directed her ire at world No. 56 Babos and angrily smashed her racquet after missing a backhand.
"F--- off, you f---ing bitch," Vandeweghe spat, prompting Murphy to give her another code violation and deduct a point from her score.
After her loss, the American revealed she had been bedridden with the flu in the days leading up to her first round clash, with her coach, Australian great Pat Cash, coming to her defence on Twitter.
"CoCo Vandeweghe I'm proud of you," he wrote, revealing his protege had been struggling to breathe and eat, let alone practice, leading up to the clash.
"You still decided to get out and give it a real try," Cash wrote.
@CoCoVandey I'm proud of you. after 5 days sick in bed w flu 1 x 20 min practice back to bed 1x30 min yesterday and only 4 /5 half meals in the week and struggling to breath you still decided to get out and give it a real try. Now for the doubles w @laurarobson5??? Pat Cash (@TheRealPatCash) January 15, 2018
But tennis fans were not so generous, slamming Vandeweghe's behaviour.
"Disgusting attitude and behaviour and you should be fined by the @WTA [Women's Tennis Association]," one fan told her. "If this was Kyrgios, he'd be forfeited and fined."
Wrote another: Shame on you @CoCoVandey. Disgusting. Timea deserves an apology."
Vandeweghe is known for her on-court tantrums and racquet smashes. At Wimbledon last year, she snapped at an umpire over a line call she described as "baloney".
In an interview with ESPN last month, Vandeweghe denied she was arrogant and said she did not understand why the insult was often levelled at her.
"I think probably the biggest misconception about me is I'm arrogant," she said.
"I don't find myself to be arrogant when I'm around people or even walking around, but I seem to get called arrogant a bunch. And that I don't understand."
Day one of the Australian Open was a horror day for the Americans, with top seeds Venus Williams, John Isner, Sloane Stephens and Vandeweghe all crashing out to unseeded players in the opening round.
Thank you everyone for coming out today @AustralianOpen ! Sadly not where I'd like to be health wise, but you can't pick when these things happen. Tried my best. Dubs now with @laurarobson5 #SSWCV??? CoCo Vandeweghe (@CoCoVandey) January 15, 2018
@CoCoVandey really one of the worst sportswomen out there, the furthest thing from a good role model??? S.J.W. (@SJW_Ireland) January 15, 2018
"Oh fk off. You fking bitch". Right... That behaviour is because of the flu. Disgusting attitude and behaviour and you should be fined by the @WTA If this was Kyrgios, he'd be forfeited and fined.??? NoobFan11 (@ARKFAN111) January 15, 2018
The truth hurts Coco? I guess it does. pic.twitter.com/BAbVoJmDTl??? NoobFan11 (@ARKFAN111) January 15, 2018
Dear @TennisChannel why do you continue to support players that show such poor sportsmanship? Tonight Coco Vandeweghe "fu@k off you fu@king bit*h" to her opponent @AustralianOpen.??? Greg Bryant (@greg90803) January 15, 2018
SHAME ON YOU @CoCoVandey. Disgusting. Timea deserves an apology.??? Justin Frederic (@justinfrederic) January 15, 2018
I??? bet CoCo Vandeweghe asks to speak to the manager at every restaurant she goes to??? Fluff (@fluffhead_sc) January 15, 2018
@CoCoVandey needed a snickers, not a banana. #AOTennis #AustralianOpen??? Elliot Brown (@Elliot_M_Brown) January 15, 2018
After your disgraceful behavior I should think they're glad to see the back of you, got all you deserved.??? Paul Felstead (@goughiesbigtoe) January 15, 2018
@CoCoVandey Crying over bananas? Really?! Absolute disgrace. This isn't bush league tennis. Pack your bags sweetheart #AusOpen #tennis #CocoVandeweghe??? Hung Vu La (@hvl1981) January 15, 2018