Former Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open ballboy from 2010-2019 shares some of his memories working from the best view in the house and boy does he have the colorful stories…
Greatest ballboy moment: Catching a 145 mile an hour serve with my bare hand (Ivo Karlovic).
Most painful moment: Getting hit in the head (and bloodied) by a thrown racquet in the doubles match (Robert Galloway who was defaulted from the tournament).
Stangest Moment: Seeing a player popping some kind of pills and shooting an injection into his buttock before a match and then reporting him, he was later tested and then banned (Wayne Odesnik).
Funny Memory: Jack Sock asking me if he should continue playing to quit the match (vs. Steve Johnson). I said Not if you keep playing bad. He retired from the match early in the second set after losing the first set tiebreaker, it was a really hot early afternoon match. The night before he hooked up with a ballgirl and he had a hangover in the match.
Fun Fact: Frances Tiafoe played here. He was throwing up during his first ever Sarasota Open match. Years later I saw him at Miami Open and he recognized me and said hi. I said how do you recognize me? He said, You ballboyed my first ATP match. I had to give him the bag to throw up in and carry it off the court.
Nicest Players: Nick Kyrgios. Tiafoe.
Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open · Frances Tiafoe · Jack SOck · Nick Kyrgios