On Saturday, during his final qualifying match, French tennis player Elliot Benchetrit asked a ball kid to peel a banana for him. And he went viral for it. I’m no expert when it comes to getting the internet’s attention but I’m going to put this one down to a) asking a ball kid to peel your banana and b) asking a ball kid to peel your banana.
[jwplayer vGbO6QxG]
I just feel like if you can hold a racquet for three sets, you can probably peel your own banana. Just my opinion, though.
Anywho, the ball girl had offered Benchetrit the banana during his match against Kazakhstani lad Dmitry Popko. Benchetrit accepted it, but asked the ball girl to peel it for him. Enter umpire John Blom, who told the dude to do it himself, which he did.
The whole thing was widely shared on Twitter by Alex Theodoridis, and then posted on his website Tennisportalen.
“So this is the moment where Elliot Benchetrit asks the ball kid to peel his banana,” he tweeted. “I’m glad the umpire stepped in and told him off.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntcrjpR6ZKk&feature=emb_title
Benchetrit did have some tape around a couple of his right fingers so maybe he… couldn’t peel his banana… after unscrewing the cap from his bottle? I don’t know, I’m very confused by the request. Like out of all things to ask a ball kid: Can you please peel my banana? Hehe, thanks.
Banana aside, Benchetrit ended up winning the match. His first round match in the Australian Open kicks off this afternoon. He’ll take on Japan’s Yuichi Sugita on court 11. You can check out the tournament’s schedule right here. Depending on how far he gets in the Open, he’ll probably cop a question or two about the whole thing post-match.
