Ben Shelton's blistering serve got away from him during his Wimbledon third-round match against Otto Virtanen on Court Two, striking a ball kid in the stomach with a serve clocked at 146 miles per hour, the second fastest of the entire tournament so far.
The fourth seed immediately raised his hand and called out, "Are you OK," before the ball kid reassured him he was fine and Shelton returned to the baseline to continue play.
Shelton has been one of the most dominant servers at this year's Wimbledon, with only Thiago Agustin Tirante clocking a faster serve at 147.8 mph.
The American dropped the first set against Virtanen before rallying to win the next two and move within reach of a second-round matchup against either home favorite Arthur Fery or Damir Dumhur.
The 23-year-old reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year, his best result at the tournament, and is looking to build on that after a disappointing French Open, where he was eliminated in the second round in straight sets.
With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by a wrist injury and questions surrounding both Novak Djokovic's body and Jannik Sinner's fitness, Shelton enters this tournament sensing an opening. "I have a lot more room to grow," he said before the event began. "But I do think I have made big strides."