Australian Open 2017: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga shares touching letter by ball girl he helped last year

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s act of kindness at the Australian Open last year had made headlines, after he stopped play in his second round match to check on a ball girl.

The Frenchman noticed that the ball girl in question, named Guiliana, was fighting back tears after being struck by a ball. Tsonga had put her arms around her and led her off the court so that she could receive further assistance from the tournament organisers.

Here’s a video of Tsonga helping the ball girl out in 2016, to jog your memory.

Twelve months on, the ball girl penned a sweet thank you card to the No 12 seed, which Tsonga shared on social media.

“Dear Mr Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, I wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you for helping me out on court during your round 2 match. I’m not sure if you remember me but I was the ball girl you escorted off court,” the letter reads.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to apologise for the times when you asked for the ball but I did not service it to you or acknowledge you.

“I had picked up a virus which I was unaware of and it caused me to become dizzy and lightheaded. This also affected my vision and hearing.

“I apologise for not being able to perform my duties as a ball kid to the high standards that are expected.

“Thank you so much for the kindness that you showed me. I really appreciate that you were able to see that I needed some help and were kind enough to escort me off court.

“Congratulations on making it to the next round,” she added. “I wish you all the best for your upcoming games and I hope you are able to make it to the very end of the Australian Open!”

Tsonga shared an image of the letter with the message: “Thank you very much for your letter Giuliana!!! #Remember”.

Thank you very much for your letter Giuliana !!! 👌🏾✨💙 #Remember #AustOpen2016 pic.twitter.com/0dBNXGUFxP

— Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (@tsonga7) January 22, 2017

Back then, Tsonga had told reporters that he “didn’t do anything special” by helping her off the court, and has now expressed his gratitude for the thoughtful letter. He may not think it was a big deal, but we do firmly believe that it was one of the nicest gestures on a tennis court.  One kind deed does go a long way, indeed.