Novak Djokovic and Miyu Kato are among the tennis players who were defaulted because of hitting linespeople or ball kids.
Kato has made headlines over the past couple of days after she accidentally hit a ball girl during her women’s doubles match in the third round of the French Open. The Japanese was initially given a warning but she and her partner Aldila Sutjiadi were both defaulted following complaints from their opponents and the intervention of the tournament supervisor.
However, this isn’t the only time a tennis player was defaulted for hurting on-court personnel as there have been several incidents of the same over the years. Some of these incidents involved top players and made headlines.
On that note, let’s take a look at five instances when tennis players were defaulted for hitting a ball kid or a linesperson
#1 Novak Djokovic, 2020 US Open
Novak Djokovic’s disqualification at the 2020 US Open is one that will not be forgotten for a while.
Djokovic entered the tournament as the top seed and reached the fourth round following wins over Damir Dzumhur, Kyle Edmund, and Jan-Lennard Struff. He was then up against 20th seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
The Spaniard had just broken Djokovic to go 6-5 up in the opening set when the Serb hit a ball towards the baseline. However, it accidentally hit a lineswoman in the throat.
The supervisor then intervened and Djokovic was eventually defaulted, thus becoming the first player to endure this at a Grand Slam in 20 years. This was the Serb’s very first defeat of the 2020 season.
#2 Miyu Kato/Aldila Sutjiadi, 2023 French Open
Miyu Kato was involved in what will go down as one of the most controversial moments of the 2023 season.
The Japanese partnered Aldila Sutjiadi in the women’s doubles event at the French Open and the duo were seeded 16th. They reached the third round of the clay-court Major without dropping a single set.
They then locked horns with Sara Sorribes Tormo and Marie Bouzkova, who won the opening set via a tiebreak. Kato and Sutjiadi led 3-1 in the second set before the Japanese accidentally hit a ballgirl with a ball.
The chair umpire initially gave Kato a warning before Sorribes Tormo and Bouzkova protested that the Japanese and her teammate be defaulted as the ballgirl was crying.
The tournament supervisor entered the court and Kato and Sutjiadi were eventually disqualified.Expand Tweet
#3 Denis Shapovalov, 2017 Davis Cup
2017 was the year when Denis Shapovalov made his breakthrough. The Canadian notably reached the semifinals in Montreal, where he beat Rafael Nadal.
However, Shapovalov also had a forgettable moment in that year’s Davis Cup World Group. Canada faced Great Britain in the first round and the scores were 2-2 when Shapovalov and Kyle Edmund faced off in the decisive match of the tie.
The Englishman won the opening two sets 6-3, 6-4 and led 2-1 when the Canadian angrily hit a ball only for it to hit chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the eye. Shapovalov received an instant default for unsportsmanlike behavior, thus giving Great Britain the win in the tie.
#4 Tim Henman/Jeremy Bates
Tim Henman and Jeremy Bates received a wildcard for the men’s doubles competition at the 1995 Wimbledon Championships. The pair were up against Henrik Holm and Jeff Tarango in the first round and led by two sets to one.
The fourth set was tied at 6-6 when Henman displayed his frustration at missing a shot to smashing a ball in anger. However, it hit a ball girl and she was expectedly in a lot of pain.
Henman and Bates were eventually defauled for the former accidentally hitting the ball girl.
#5 Stefan Koubek, 2000 French Open
Stefan Koubek was unseeded at the 2000 French Open and booked his place in the second round of the tournament by beating Spaniard Galo Blanco in four sets. The Austrian was up against Hungarian qualifier Attila Savolt in the second round and won the opening set 6-3.
Savolt bounced back and won the next two sets 7-5, 6-0. The Hungarian was leading 5-2 in the fourth set before Koubek threw his racquet and hit a ball boy. The Austrian had already received three prior violations and he was given a direct disqualification after hitting the ball boy.