Tennis Star Hits Fan in the Face With Ball, Gets Disqualified In Semi-Final

(Andy Wong/AP photo)

Russian Tennis sensation Daniil Medvedev was cast out of the China Open in the semi-final round after he struck a spectator square in the face with a ball.

Medvedev, long known for his on-court antics, was sent packing after the incident during the match with Novak Djokovic.

After missing a shot from Djokovic, the ball bounced off the wall and back to Medvedev, who backhanded it into the stands.

The impact was not seen by cameras at the tournament, but they did show the fan in the front row with his hand over his left eye before he was led away.

Medvedev claimed he did not fire the ball away on purpose.

“It was 100% an accident,” Medvedev told the Associated Press. “You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger,”  “The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn’t go out of the court.”

Medvedev added that he hoped to make it up to the fan.

“I feel terribly sorry for him actually and I just hope he’s OK,” Medvedev told the AP. “Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”

Accident or not, Medvedev is no stranger to bad behavior during matches.

At the U.S. Open in 2023, he shoved a videographer before shouting at someone in the crowd to “shut up!”

A year earlier at the Australian Open, Medvedev admitted he was “out of my mind” when he screamed at an umpire.

“Oh my god, you are so bad, man,” Medvedev yelled to the official. “How can you be so bad in the semifinal of a Grand Slam. LOOK AT ME! I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

Djokovic will now face Alex de Minaur in the finals on Tuesday.

Watch the clip above.

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