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Shocking video: Father arrested for alleged assault of 14-year-old daughter on tennis court

A viral social media video has set police into action with a father arrested for alleged domestic violence of his 14-year-old daughter on a tennis court.

A still image taken from the video showing a horrific assault on a young tennis player.
A still image taken from the video showing a horrific assault on a young tennis player.

A father has been arrested for an alleged tennis court assault on his 14-year-old daughter in Serbia, following a video of the incident going viral.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs in Belgrade confirmed that officers from Palilula police station identified and arrested a Chinese national believed to be the man in the video.

He has been detained for up to 48 hours on suspicion of committing domestic violence.

WARNING: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

Tennis stars are calling for action.

Australia’s Daria Saville, Pam Shriver and others have urged the ITF to investigate the footage which was shared online by Croatian actor Igor Juric.

Former Australian tennis star-turned-commentator Jelena Dokic gave an impassioned plea to protect young tennis stars as she opened up on the footage which left her ‘feeling sick’.

“Another brutal violence from a father against his daughter. I was informed that this is a family coming from China. We will be filing criminal charges against this monster as well,” Juric wrote.

In the disturbing video, a man can be seen attacking a young player, striking her numerous times in the abdomen and the head. He goes on to pull her by the hair before she falls to the ground.

According to local reports the player in the footage is just 14-years-old.

“OMG we all need to report, and press charges against this kind of horrible abuse,” Shriver wrote before calling for Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic to help ensure justice was served.

Let’s ask for @DjokerNole to help behind the scenes. We all need to work together to stop abuse. Igor thanks for doing your part,” she wrote.

Andy Murray’s mother Judy was disgusted by the footage.

Horrific example of parental physical abuse in junior tennis,” she wrote. “Over to you to deal with this through whichever governing body he falls under.”

Since the video was made public, Tennis Association of Belgrade (TSB) released a statement condemning the footage.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the brutal violence that happened on the tennis court during a training session. We found out that this was a case of domestic violence, considering that the attacker is the father of a young tennis player.

“The Tennis Association of Belgrade has always been alerting the Disciplinary Commission of the Tennis Association of Serbia about any knowledge of cases of violence during competitions and in dressing rooms, and processed some of these, and in some cases, the Prosecutor’s Office was also involved.

“This time as well, in co-operation with the Prosecutor’s Office, we are working in order to conclude this case as soon as possible. We have also organised several workshops for parents of young tennis players in order to take proactive approach and prevent something like this from happening again.”

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/itf-urged-to-act-after-female-tennis-player-assaulted-by-father-on-court/news-story/b0b0b73fd1119be2d654b1ca617ab7a2