(Reuters) - The United States Tennis Association (USTA) was found by a jury mostly liable when Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard fell in a training room at the 2015 U.S. Open, resulting in her withdrawal and a concussion, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
The jury deliberated for less than a hour before ruling in Bouchard’s favor in the lawsuit against the USTA.
The jury decided the tennis association will have to pay 75 percent of the damages owed to Bouchard but also found the tennis player bore contributory negligence, assessing her 25 percent of the total negligence, the newspaper reported.
“When you get 75 percent or better, you can’t ever complain about that,” Bouchard’s attorney Benedict Morelli told The New York Times. “If somebody gives you three-quarters of the enchilada, you can’t complain.”
The USTA told Reuters it was not commenting at this time, while representatives for Bouchard could not be immediately reached for a statement.
Bouchard, a former world number five and Wimbledon finalist, was seeking damages for her physical and emotional suffering as well as lost earnings both on and off the court after not playing a complete match for the remainder of 2015.
The 23-year-old told the jury on Wednesday that she took two steps into the training room after a mixed doubles match before slipping on the wet floor, falling and hitting her head on the tile floor.
“I was laying there shocked, staring at the ceiling,” she said.
Tennis association lawyers said Bouchard should have known not to be in the room without a trainer or tournament personnel
The damages phase of the trial will begin on Friday.
Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by John O'Brien