Decorum is usually a term associated with tennis crowds but it was completely ignored when two spectators at the Australian Open provided an embarrassing moment, as they fought for minutes over a sweaty headband.
It is common for players to hit balls, throw towels or toss headbands and wristbands into the crowd at the completion of their matches, and Aryna Sabalenka was doing just that at Melbourne Arena on Wednesday.
The 11th-seeded Sabalenka had just beaten Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-4 in their second-round match in the women's draw when she threw her sweat-soaked headband into the crowd.
That is when all hell broke loose, as two spectators struggled to gain possession of the Belarusian's discarded headpiece.
AAP photographer Hamish Blair was covering the match and captured the ugly scenes in all their glory.
"I heard the woman on the right say something along the lines of 'I could stay here all day'," Blair told The Age.
"Everyone in the crowd was laughing, it was hilarious. The timestamps on my photos show it went for about five minutes."
As the spectators refused to give up the headband security officials were forced to intervene.
It was reported the spectators were escorted from Melbourne Arena following the incident.
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