[Image: LoisBoisson / Instagram]
British tennis player Harriet Dart has apologised for saying an opponent “smells bad” and requesting she put deodorant on.
In the footage, Dart can be heard saying to the umpire: “Can you tell her to wear deodorant?… Because she smells really bad.”
Harriet Dart said in an Instagram story that she “truly regretted” her comments made about French player Lois Boisson, to whom she lost 6-0, 6-3 in the first round of the clay-court Rouen Open on Tuesday.
Dart made the comments about Boisson during a changeover in the second set, with the French player seemingly out of earshot at the back of the court.
Harriet Dart asked the umpire to tell her opponent to wear deodorant
She lost the match 6-0 6-3
(h/t @popalorena)
pic.twitter.com/kk5Wm69jTd— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 15, 2025
The 28-year-old apologised for her comments, saying, “It was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret”.
She added: “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.”
Luckily, Boisson, who made her first WTA Tour appearance of the season and is working her way back up from 303rd in the rankings after injuries, didn’t seem to be too offended by the jab. She posted a photo on Instagram of her on the court with a Dove deodorant edited into the frame above her hand, tagging the company and writing that they “apparently need a collab”.
