HS girl loses state tennis final after leaving court because of hecklers

The last singles match of Briana Leonard's high school tennis career ended prematurely Tuesday after she walked off the court in the second set of her state title match-up because of heckling by the crowd.

The ranked — and rankled — Leonard cut short her New Hampshire girl's tennis final against Sunday Swett when she decided to end the contest by leaving the court in the best-of-three match because the crowd wouldn't let up on her after taking a fall.

Swett, a Bow High School senior, was already one set up when Leonard, from Bishop Guertin, a college preparatory private Roman Catholic high school in Nashua, New Hampshire, chose to walk away.

The forfeit occurred when officials attempted to move the final at the end of the first set to a different court due to the failing light

Instead of heading to the new court, Leonard left with her parents and drove home.

"This has been going on for the last two years," Briana's mother Kristen Leonard said. 

"This is an 18-year-old girl who fell and got hurt and people are cheering. They were bullying her. This has been going on for two years. They’ve wanted her out for two years because she’s not a New Hampshire girl. Because we live in Massachusetts."

Her coach, Barry Ndynia, acknowledged that she had had to endure a hostile crowd, but said such challenges were often an integral part of sports.

"They thought the crowd was over the top, cheering for their daughter’s faults and things like that," he said.

"In sports that’s something you have to deal with. Some people will not cheer for you. They’ll cheer for your opponent. That’s why I was trying to keep her focused."

Leonard, who until Tuesday had not lost a match all season, was also docked a point before the match began because she was late getting to the court.

Her father, Tim, had been told to leave the premises after discussing the sanction with officials.

It took a moment for Sunday to realize she had won. "I thought it was a bathroom break and when everyone started cheering I thought it was more like, 'First Set! Keep it going!' And I was kind of like, 'thank you, but I’ve got to stay focused here.'"

Swett and Leonard have history despite Bow being in Division III and BG in Division I. Between USTA events and the NHIAA singles tournaments, Leonard owned a 4-0 record against Swett heading into Tuesday’s match – including a 6-0, 6-1 quarterfinal win in this same event last season.

"I’ve wanted this for so long. I was fired up," Swett said. "It was her choice. I’m not going to let it dampen my happiness."

The young Leonard might want to take a page from the Williams sisters who have — and would have — handled the taunting by sticking it out.