Tennis' Irina-Camelia Begu Makes Kid Cry With Racquet-Throwing Outburst

A little kid was reduced to tears while watching pro tennis on Thursday ... and it's all because one of the competitors on the court nearly hit him with her racquet during an outburst.

The scene played out during Irina-Camelia Begu's match against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the French Open ... when Begu was so pissed over her performance in the third set, she tossed her racquet into the ground in frustration.

The star's piece of equipment, though, bounced off the clay surprisingly, and made a beeline toward a child who was sitting in the first few rows of the stands.

Somehow, the racquet just missed the boy -- according to spectators -- but the close-call scared the kid, who began crying so loudly, the match was actually put on pause.

Pictures from the event show the kid was terrified ... needing to be consoled by his parents and other fans.

But, to her credit, Begu -- who was given a code violation for the outburst -- went on to win the match and then did all she could to cheer the kid up.

She hugged him, and posed for a picture with him -- and it seems everyone was happy again after that.