Same Shanghai ball boy goes viral twice in three years

What are the odds of the same Shanghai ball boy being involved in two on-court scares, and going viral both times?

In 2016, Vasek Pospisil’s serve flew wide past Grigor Dmitrov and smacked a young boy in the stomach. The video, which has seen over a million views on YouTube, saw Dimitrov comfort the boy, who burst into tears. Dimitrov even gave him a wristband as consolation.

This year, during Alexander Zverev’s second-round match against Nikoloz Basilashvili, the German hit a running backhand winner to break serve serve for 6-5 in the first set. He let out a roaring fist pump at the net, scaring a nearby ball boy.

It just so happened to be the same boy from two years prior. After the match, Zverev gave him a headband and the two exchanged some words and a hug.

Whether the boy works next year’s Shanghai event is not known, but given his luck, he could very well add to his souvenir collection and pile on more YouTube hits.