Tennis star Maria Sakkari believed she had come to the rescue of a bug during her match at the Washington Open, only to see the critter squashed just moments later.
The Greek player had been in action against American rival Emma Navarro in the last-16 of the event.
Sakkari briefly delayed play after spotting a bug on the court, with the 29-year-old the seen bending down and carefully picking up up.
The bug walked on Sakkari’s hand as she calmly walked towards the back off the court, before attempting to blow it away.
Sakkari eventually placed the bug down with the star hoping to have taken it away from harm as the match progressed.
‘Good work from Sakkari, taking care of the local wildlife,’ the commentator remarked.
‘Very delicately done,’ they added.
Footage showed, however, that the bug’s reprieve was only a momentary one.
As cameras lingered on it at the back of the court, a ball boy’s trainer was seen stamping down and squashing it.
The incident prompted surprised reactions from both Sakkari and the commentator.
‘Oh dear me,’ the commentator said, adding ‘the ball kid didn’t get the memo’.
Cameras then panned around to Sakkari, who responded to the bizarre moment with smile as she quickly then switched her focus to returning Navarro’s serve.
Sakkari would ultimately come through the match impressively, with the wildcard earning 7-5, 7-6 win over tournament second seed Emma Navarro.
The former world No 3, who reached the French Open and US Open semi-finals in 2021, will now meet Britain’s Emma Raducanu in the quarter-finals.
Raducanu earned an impressive 6-4 6-2 victory over former world No 1 Naomi Osaka to book her place in the last eight.
The British star has met Sakkari three times in her career to date and won on each ocassion.
Their most notable meeting came at the US Open in 2021, with Raducanu winning in straight sets in their semi-final.
Raducanu famously went on to clinch the title, becoming the first qualifier to win a major.
