WELLINGTON, New Zealand — An 8-year-old girl was ejected from a junior tennis tournament on New Zealand's South Island when officials discovered she was wearing a radio earpiece to receive instructions from her father.

Tournament referee Rob Wilkinson said officials became suspicious because the match involving Ukranian-born Anastasiya Korzh featured a "heightened number of questioned calls."

Officials found the earpiece hidden under the girl's headband, linked by a cord to a receiver under her shirt, The Press newspaper reported Thursday.

Korzh's father said the earpiece was only being used to help the girl keep score in the under-10 tournament.

She was playing in her first tournament.