Svetlana Kuznetsova stunned onlookers when she pulled out a pair of scissors and cut her hair on court during her opening match at the WTA Finals in Singapore.
Kuznetsova looked physically spent as she claimed a draining 7-5, 1-6, 7-5 win over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in nearly three hours.
In a bizarre move while trailing 1-2 and down a break in the third set, Kuznetsova cut off a portion of her braid at the back of her head during the changeover.
Kuznetsova fought back, however, saving a match point on Radwanska’s serve near the end, and eventually prevailing on a third match point to break Radwanska’s serve.
Explaining her haircut, Kuznetsova said: ‘It was bothering me a lot. I was trying to put it behind my headband but my hair is very thick and heavy.
‘When I was hitting forehands, every time I would hit a good shot it would hit my eye and I would struggle.’
‘I thought “OK, what’s more important right now, my hair or the match?” So I thought, OK, I have got to go for it right now.’
