"That is unbelievable" - Andre Agassi's ex-coach Brad Gilbert baffled by Amarissa Kiara Toth's remarks after Zhang Shuai controversy

Zhang Shuai's Hungarian Open campaign came to a controversial end on Tuesday (July 18) as a disputed line call and a hostile crowd forced her to retire from her match against Amarissa Kiara Toth in tears. Toth's post-match statement about the Chinese veteran has baffled a lot of people - including Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert.

The controversial incident took place with the first set tied at 5-5, when a ball was called out. Zhang Shuai was certain the ball had hit the line; she disputed the call with the chair umpire, but to no avail.

Things derailed quickly as Toth intentionally removed the mark left by the ball on the clay court, causing Zhang to scream in protest. The crowd then started booing the Chinese player, following which she withdrew from the match.

As Zhang Shuai walked off the court, Toth threw her arms in celebration of the unusual victory. Later, the Hungarian suggested that the former World No. 22's actions were unjustified. She also stated that Zhang caused problems for herself by not agreeing with the chair umpire's decision.

Toth's statement was widely criticized by the tennis world. Brad Gilbert also sided with Zhang Shuai and criticized the umpire's bad call.

"Wow that is unbelievable statement when the ball was clearly in and umpire lost the plot," wrote Brad Gilbert.

The Hungarian Open authorities earlier released an official statement, where they justified Toth's on-court conduct. Furthermore, they accused "the Chinese" of manipulating the world with a video.

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"I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing my side" - Zhang Shuai

Zhang Shuai at the 2022 US Open

Hours after Zhang Shuai endured an unfortunate end to her Hungarian Open campaign, she took to social media to address the situation. She also expressed gratitude towards her compatriots and fans for supporting her throughout the incident.

Sharing a video of the incident on Twitter, Zhang wrote:

"All efforts on practice was wrong , because when you wanted hitting closer to the line , even touched the line still OUT ….. I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing my side."

"A lot of players /fans such warm messages , love you guys and really appreciated again. Move forward stay strong," she added.