Emma Raducanu had a local intruder break onto the court during her first-round Australian Open tie against Shelby Rogers.
The British tennis superstar was playing in her first Grand Slam match since undergoing surgery in April last year.
She made her competitive comeback earlier this month in Auckland as part of her preparations for the Australian Open.
There were some doubts about Raducanu's fitness heading into the major as she pulled out of two exhibition events on the eve of the tournament.
The ball girl couldn't catch the critter
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But any concerns were swiftly put aside as she eased past Shelby Rogers in straight sets.
Raducanu wrapped up the first set in just 37 minutes after securing a break in the fourth game.
The 21-year-old broke immediately in the second set and was set to consolidate her break when a small critter interrupted play.
Raducanu was getting ready to serve when she appeared to stop in her tracks, seemingly unaware of what to do with the bug.
A ball kid then ran onto the court to try and catch the critter with the spectators in hysterics as the bug jumped and evaded capture on a number of occasions
Another ball kid entered the court to try and help before they both gave up on catching it with their hands.
The chair umpire and both players were laughing along with the crowd as the bug refused to move off the court.
The ball kid then returned with a towel to capture the creepy-crawly with the Australian Open confirming the bug was still alive as it was ejected from the arena.
Raducanu managed to hold serve after play eventually resumed and she ended up seeing out the match to progress to the second round.
The former British No 1 now faces Wang Yafan next and could go up against compatriot Katie Boulter in the third round.
The bug stopped play for around a minute
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Raducanu's biggest delight from the match though is being able to play without any pain in her wrists for the first time in a long time.
"It's amazing to be pain-free with the wrists," Raducanu said.
"I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get to this stage.
"I had pain for so long. I was playing since before the US swing in 2022, all the way before surgery.
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Another ball girl came over the help
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"It was difficult because I wasn't able to train, I wasn't able to practice. Then having to go play and compete against the best in the world with an hour a day, while not playing for two weeks trying to settle the pain down, is very difficult.
"You're playing and it's like you can't even say "I know, it's doing the work, it will pay off", because I wasn't doing any work.
"I was just trying to make it until after Wimbledon, but I just couldn't. Mentally I wanted to be in the best position possible every match. So I just decided to (have the surgeries)."
