Thailand Open: Tennis star Sabine Lisicki left mortified by ballgirl's 'brutal' act

German tennis star Sabine Lisicki was left mortified at the Thai Open after a ball girl at enacted some cold-blooded punishment on a helpless bug.

Lisicki was felled in straight sets 6-3 6-4 by Spanish No. 1 seed Garbine Muguruza, and perhaps it was a moment early in the second set that threw the German off her game.

As often happens playing under the lights, a stray bug found its way onto court, landing beside Lisicki as she prepared to return the Spaniard’s serve.

The German struggled to remove the insect as she attempted to gently shuffle it on with the tip of her racquet to the amusement of the crowd.

Heeding the call to action, a nearby ball girl ran toward the pair, taking a double-footed leap to mercilessly crushing the bug upon her landing as Liskicki winced.

“Brutal treatment of the local wildlife,” the commentator quipped between chuckles.

It was all downhill from there for the German as she coughed up a break to Muguruza who swiftly closed out the match.

“It was a very tough first round,” Muguruza said during her on-court post-match interview.

“[Lisicki is] a grand slam finalist and she has a very powerful game, the fastest serves. So I’m very happy with this match.”