A British tennis star has given Jetstar a serve, criticising the airline’s handling of her sports equipment.
Ranked 39 in the world, Olivia Nicholls was left unimpressed when the budget airline mangled her racquets and destroyed her tennis bag.
Nicholls is visiting Australia to compete in the Hobart International Tennis Tournament between January 6-11, and was travelling from Sydney to Hobart, when the airline asked her to pay an additional A$160 ($177) check-in fee for her racquets and gear bag.
Later, when retrieving her gear post-flight, the doubles player said she discovered her equipment in a damaged state.
Nicholls used social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share her shock, posting photos of her destroyed racquets and ripped bag alongside a caption stating: “this is unacceptable”.
Displaying the racquets, one of which is broken in half, Nicholls tags the airline and asks, “how is this possible”, declaring that “my bag and racquets are totally destroyed”.
While most users agreed with Nicholls, posting replies such as “absolutely disgusting this happened” and “absolutely disgusting @JetstarAirways better get these fixed or replaced before the tournament starts!!”, others jumped to the airline’s defence, suggesting that the racquet bag was inappropriate to travel in cargo.
British tennis star, Olivia Nicholls (left) in action. Photo / Getty Images
One commenter wrote: “unpopular opinion, if you are travelling with tools of the trade in a bag too big for carry on maybe you need some better protection like a pelican case”.
While another added: “I hate to say it, but the bag sizes are above chin limits. You thought you would try and get around it. It’s a you problem not a Jetstar problem.”
Other commentators used the post as an opportunity to take a swipe at the tennis player’s naivety: “Another pom falling victim to the orange gamble”, one said.
The tweet now has over 9000 likes.
In response, a Jetstar spokesperson has assured the player - and her fans - that they will do all they can to rectify the problem.
The tennis star’s next doubles match takes place at 1pm on January 7.
“We’re really sorry for the damage to Olivia Nicholls’ racquets and for the inconvenience it has caused her,” the spokesperson said.
“Our teams are working to ensure that she receives replacement racquets today so that she can compete in her tournament this week.
“We have reached out to Ms Nicholls to apologise and offered to refund for costs incurred and provide compensation for the damage.”
