An eight year old girl has been kicked out of a tennis tournament in New Zealand for receiving instructions through a secret earpiece from her father.

Anastasiya Korzh was disqualified from the under-10 girls grade of the Canterbury Junior Winter Tournament in the South Island last week after referees were alerted to her wearing a receiver concealed under a thick headband. Her father, Demetri Korzh, a Ukrainian international wrestling coach, was guiding her through a transmitter from the sideline.

He claimed he was only helping her to keep score after he noticed that she was getting confused. Players in the under-10 grade are supposed to keep their own score and referee their own games, but Mr Korzh said he dreamed up the idea of the secret transmitter after noticing a number of suspicious calls.

"It was obvious girls were taking advantage of Ana because she was playing for the first time," he said. He rejected the idea that it was Anastasiya who was being given the unfair advantage by wearing the earpiece and denied the pair had been cheating.

If anything, he said, the receiver was a disadvantage because having one ear covered affected his daughter's co-ordination.

"It was her first tournament. I said to her 'Are you sure you will be comfortable?' (with the earpiece). She said yes. Sometimes she says, 'Dad please don't say anything', because she gets confused."

Rob Wilkinson, the tournament referee said the decision was made to search Anastasiya after it was noticed that her game had a "heightened degree of questioned calls". It was discovered that she had a receiver similar to a rugby referee's earpiece with a box at the base of the back and a cord under the shirt up to the earpiece and headband.

Mr Korzh said after he was approached by officials he took the receiver off his daughter but, after tennis's ruling body was consulted, Ana was disqualified from the tournament . He said he asked officials if he could make a paper scoreboard to keep track of the games but he was dumbfounded when they said no as it would be communicating with the players which was against the rules.

"They said if she's too young to keep score she shouldn't be playing."

Wilkinson said Mr Korzh was "a bit frustrated, but he kept it together".

Mr Korzh, an Oceania freestyle-wrestling development coach, said he was "disappointed" Ana was disqualified after she had been warned.

"I was trying to help my child and there was a miscommunication. It was as like she was punished twice."

Anastasiya said she liked wearing the earpiece.

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