Jelena Ostapenko and Ajla Tomljanovic had a terse exchange on court at Wimbledon, with the latter calling her opponent a liar during Saturday's third-round match.
Ostapenko, trailing 4-0 in the third set, requested a medical timeout with Tomljanovic about to serve. Tomljanovic, however, was convinced that the Latvian was taking the timeout to put her off her game rather than having a legitimate injury.
"You know she's lying," Tomljanovic told the umpire.
The Australian went on to win the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, but they continued their spat at the net.
"If you think I'm faking it, you can talk with the physio," Ostapenko said. "Your behavior is terrible. You have zero respect."
Responded Tomljanovic: "You're one to talk."
Ostapenko then called her opponent "the worst player on tour." When asked about it in her postmatch news conference, she said the comment was related to Tomljanovic's attitude.
"That's why I said very bad player because of this behavior," Ostapenko said. "You're winning but that doesn't mean you can do everything you want.
"It was very disrespectful from her side because she doesn't know about the injury. Everyone is an athlete and everyone can have an injury."
Ostapenko said after the match that she pulled her abdominal muscle during the second set and that she had trouble serving because of the pain.
"She cannot say anything unless she knows anything, and she's not me so she cannot feel the pain," Ostapenko said. "I'm the one who feels the pain. I really felt I needed the physio."
Tomljanovic also doubled down in her media appearance after the match, confirming she was still convinced that Ostapenko was faking the injury to put her off her game.
"She can say she was injured. I don't think she was," Tomljanovic said. "I think it was a clear reason she wanted to get me off my game. Game-wise, there was nothing wrong with her.
"I think it is disgraceful behavior from someone who is a Slam champion. If she was injured, she could have gone about it in a better way."
Tomljanovic will play 18-year-old Emma Raducanu in the fourth round.
Reuters contributed to this report.