Taylor Townsend did not beat the odds.
The 18-year-old Chicago native was caught in one of the more unusual loopholes in sports while playing for the Philadelphia Freedoms during a World Team Tennis match Thursday night.
After accidentally striking her teammate in the head during a women’s doubles match, Taylor was forced to play the rest of the match on the wrong side of a 2-on-1 advantage.
World Team Tennis rules dictate that teams play five matches, each with a different configuration (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles), with each team receiving points for winning a match.
Which brings us back to Townsend. Even with her doubles partner injured and unable to continue playing, Townsend had to finish out the match because the league doesn’t allow forfeits.
This meant that Townsend couldn’t return the serve for her partner and had to give up the points when it was her partner’s turn to serve. For the vast majority of her doubles match, Townsend couldn’t even touch the ball – however she did still manage to win a few points.
Eventually, Townsend’s opponents just served underhand.
The Philadelphia Freedoms lost 21-15 to the Washington Kastles, who now move on to the World Team Tennis finals.