EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND – JUNE 26: Harriet Dart of Great Britain celebrates winning match point against … More Zhang Shuai of China in the Women’s Singles First Round match during Day Three of the Rothesay International Eastbourne at Devonshire Park on June 26, 2023 in Eastbourne, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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British tennis player Harriet Dart apologized on social media for asking her opponent Lois Boisson to use deodorant during a match, claiming “she smells really bad.”

The incident happened during a first-round match at the Rouen Open in France on Tuesday.

Dart, who lost 6-0, 6-3 to Boisson, was seen asking the chair umpire to tell her French opponent to use deodorant during a second-set changeover.

“Can you tell her (Boisson) to wear deodorant? … Because she smells really bad,” Dart was heard on the broadcast, as a courtside microphone picked up her comments.

Video clips of Dart’s comments circulated on social media and earned her backlash from tennis fans. Soon after, she issued an apology on her Instagram story.

“I want to apologize for what I said on court today, it was a heat-of-the-moment comment that I truly regret,” Dart, the British No. 4, said in her post.

“That’s not how I want to carry myself, and I take full responsibility. I have a lot of respect for Lois and how she competed today.

“I’ll learn from this and move forward.”

At the time of the incident, Boisson was too far away to hear Dart’s comments, but later the Frenchwoman made light of the incident.

On an Instagram story, she posted an edited photo of her holding a Dove deodorant and tagged the personal care brand, telling them they “apparently need a collab”.

Wild card Boisson, 21, was making her first WTA Tour performance of the season having struggled with injuries.