Tennis star sees humorous aspect after Harriet Dart asks the umpire to inform rival to ‘put on deodorant’

Harriet Dart was thrashed 6-0 6-3 by Lois Boisson in the first round of the Open de Rouen – but it was the French star’s body odour that clearly irked her British opponent

Harriet Dart found herself in a bit of a stinker during her first-round match at the Open de Rouen, and not just because of her 6-0 6-3 drubbing by Lois Boisson.

In a bizarre turn, Dart seemingly took issue with more than just her opponent’s playing, appealing to the umpire to address an unusual concern.

In the midst of her loss, the British tennis star stood up mid-match to have a word with the official, audibly requesting, “Can you tell her to wear deodorant?”

Even the umpire appeared baffled by the ask, leading Dart to repeat her plea before gearing up to return serve.

But it wasn’t only Boisson’s game that had Dart sniffing out trouble – the defeat marks her third straight single-match loss, which surely didn’t sit well either.

However, Dart would later go back on her word, posting on Instagram: “I want to apologise for what I said on court today, it was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret.

“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.”

And the Frenchwoman found the funny side of the interaction, posting a mocked up image on Instagram of her using Dove while playing tennis.

She wrote: “@Dove apparently need a collab.”

Despite a challenging start to 2025, she was given a second chance at the Australian Open after not making it through the qualifiers.

Dart managed to enter as a ‘lucky loser’ due to some players pulling out and subsequently progressed to the second round.