Harriet Dart has publicly apologised following a controversial comment made during her first-round defeat at the Rouen Open, where she asked the umpire to intervene over an apparent body odour issue with her opponent, Lois Boisson.
The British number four endured a frustrating outing on the French clay, falling 6-0 6-3 to Boisson in just over an hour. Dart struggled to find rhythm throughout, with the opening set lasting only 28 minutes. During a second-set changeover, frustration appeared to boil over as Dart was caught on broadcast audio saying to the chair umpire:
"Can you ask her to put on deodorant? She smells really bad."
Though it appeared Boisson was unaware of the comment at the time—having just returned to court while Dart remained seated—it quickly circulated online.
The 28-year-old Briton later addressed the incident on Instagram, acknowledging her mistake and expressing remorse:
"I want to apologise for what I said on court today, it was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret," she wrote.
"That's not how I want to carry myself, and I take full responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today. I'll learn from this and move forward."
Boisson, 21, seemed to take the matter in stride. Later that day, she posted a light-hearted Instagram story showing an edited image of herself holding a deodorant stick, tagging Dove and joking that they "apparently need a collab."
While Dart’s remarks sparked some debate on social media, no official statement has yet been made by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). BBC Sport has reached out to the organisation for comment.
The match itself marked a standout performance from Boisson, currently ranked 303rd in the world. The Frenchwoman, returning to the WTA Tour after dealing with injury setbacks, capitalised on a below-par Dart to book a spot in the last 16. She broke Dart’s serve four times and held firm on all six break points she faced.
For Dart, this loss comes as part of a difficult start to the clay-court season. The Rouen Open was only her second match on the surface this year, following a first-round exit to Varvara Gracheva in Charleston. With the French Open just weeks away, the Briton will be hoping to regroup and reset.