Daniil Medvedev has been thrown out of the China Open after a ball he hit in frustration struck a spectator in the face during his semi-final against Novak Djokovic. The Russian third seed was trailing 7-5 5-3 in Beijing when the match ended, and he loses the ranking points and prize money he had earned at the tournament.
The incident followed a Djokovic winner that took the score to 15-15. As the ball bounced back off the rear of the court, Medvedev took an annoyed backhand swipe at it and sent it into the front row of the stand behind him. The fan bent over clutching his face and was still holding his eye as he was helped out of the arena. Medvedev spoke with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official before going to the net to shake Djokovic’s hand.
Medvedev apologised afterwards, saying he was “terribly sorry to the spectator” and was trying to reach him to apologise in person. Djokovic, who was defaulted from the 2020 US Open for a similar incident, said he hoped the fan was not badly hurt and that he felt for Medvedev, adding that he was sure the Russian had not meant to do it.
Defaults are rare in tennis and only follow breaches of the code of conduct such as ball abuse, racquet abuse, or physical or verbal abuse. Players can usually collect three code violations before a fourth leads to disqualification, but Medvedev’s offence was judged serious enough for an immediate default. The 30-year-old has a long record of on-court flashpoints. He was fined almost £31,500 ($42,500) after a meltdown at last year’s US Open when a photographer walked on court, and he was fined again in April for smashing a racquet after a 6-0 6-0 defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters. He told BBC Sport in 2025 that he was working on his behaviour.
The default cut short a strong performance from the 39-year-old Djokovic, who saved 16 of the 18 break points he faced. He will play Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s final with a 33-0 record at the China Open, where he has won the title six times. It will be his first final since the Australian Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. In Tokyo, defending champion Alcaraz came from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 5-7 6-3 6-1 and will face Jiri Lehecka in the Japan Open final.
