A sixteen-year-old Romanian tennis player has said she “deserved” to be hit by her father and tennis coach, after he struck her around the head when she lost a tournament in Israel over the weekend.

When Andrada Surdeanu failed to progress to the quarter-finals, her father confiscated her phone as punishment. However, when she refused to comply the teenager’s father slapped Andrada in the face, causing her to bleed from her nose.

Andrada Surdeanu  (image via Facebook). 

In her own words, Andrada described what happened, saying:

Witnesses say umpires rushed to call police to the scene. Andrada was treated by doctors to stem the blood flow, while her father was detained by authorities and charged $AU350 for his actions.

Andrada with her father (image via Facebook).

Now on the mend, the tennis player has taken to Facebook today to defend her father’s actions. In an emotional post she said that he father should not be condemned for slapping her face:

Andrada Surdeanu  (image via Facebook). 

News outlets today are reporting the tennis sensation is panicked by the thought of her father in a jail cell. She is also worried about whether these actions will impact on her future career aspirations.

Ms Surdeanu said, “I’ve played tennis for 10 years, and I have the feeling that this episode is going to follow me for the rest of my life. Maybe I want to go to a tennis academy in the United States, to play there. But who will accept me if they know I was hit by my father?”