Daniil Medvedev was disqualified from the China Open on Monday after a backhand swipe struck a spectator in the face, ending his semi-final against Novak Djokovic with the Serb leading 7-5, 5-3 and serving at 15-15 after two hours and 24 minutes.
The 29-year-old Russian was three points from defeat when Djokovic put away a forehand volley. The ball ricocheted off the advertising boards behind the court and came back towards Medvedev, who flicked at it with his backhand. It flew into the front row and hit a male spectator close to his left eye. He left the arena with a hand clamped over his face, helped by stadium staff, and was later taken to hospital.
Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani descended with the tournament supervisor. Medvedev accepted the default under the ball-abuse rule without argument, shook hands with Djokovic at the net, and forfeited all ranking points and prize money from the tournament.
“One hundred per cent an accident”
Medvedev did not dispute the ruling, but he did dispute the characterisation. “It was 100 per cent an accident,” he said. “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.”
He was blunter about his own reputation: “I do a lot of bad things, but usually ball abuse is not my thing.” The point is defensible on the evidence. The rule, however, does not grade intent — it grades consequence, and a ball hit recklessly into a crowd that injures a spectator is a default regardless of what was in the player’s head.
His concern afterwards was for the man in the front row. “Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all. I’m trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it,” Medvedev said. “I just really care about him right now. Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow. When I saw the result, I felt horrible.”
The context does him no favours. Medvedev has become one of the tour’s most reliably fined players:
- Monte Carlo, 2026 — racket destruction during a 6-0, 6-0 defeat
- US Open, 2025 — fined for an altercation involving a courtside photographer
- Australian Open, 2025 — fined for smashing a net-mounted camera
None of those involved a ball struck into a crowd. This one did, and that is the distinction that cost him the match.
Djokovic knows exactly how it feels
Few players on tour were worse placed to enjoy the moment than the man who benefited from it. Djokovic was defaulted from the 2020 US Open for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball struck in frustration — a disqualification that ended his bid for an 18th major and remains the most-cited default of the modern era.
“I was shocked, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “I hope that person is not badly injured. I also feel sorry for Daniil, as I know exactly how it feels to be disqualified in a big match.”
The sympathy is genuine, and it underlines why this incident matters beyond one scoreline. Since 2020, officials have shown no appetite for leniency when a ball reaches the stands. Intent has been functionally removed from the calculation. A player who swings at a loose ball near the baseline is accepting a risk that the rulebook will not share with them.
For the record, Djokovic had earned his position. He saved 16 of the 18 break points he faced across a grinding two sets, and the default denied him the chance to close out a match he was already controlling.
A 33-0 record and a first title shot of 2026
The win extended Djokovic’s China Open record to 33-0. A six-time champion in Beijing between 2009 and 2015, he has never lost a match at the tournament, and the streak now carries him into a final he needs more than usual. This is his first event since losing the Australian Open final in January, and he has yet to win a title in 2026 — a drought without precedent in his career.
He meets Alex de Minaur on Tuesday. The ninth-ranked Australian reached the final by similarly unsatisfying means, advancing when Hubert Hurkacz retired trailing 6-4, 3-2. Two semi-finals, neither completed on court.
For Medvedev, the damage is broader than Beijing. A season that has produced little has now produced a disqualification, and the ATP retains the option of a separate fine on top of the forfeited earnings. His more pressing concern, by his own account, is a phone call he is trying to make to a man in a Beijing hospital.
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Sources: [Sky Sports](https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/13595259/daniil-medvedev-defaulted-for-hitting-spectator-with-ball-as-novak-djokovic-reaches-another-china-open-final), [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/50109415/medvedev-china-open-smashing-ball-fan-face), [Tennis365](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/daniil-medvedev-speaks-out-china-open-disqualification-apology), [CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/05/sport/daniil-medvedev-disqualified-china-open-djokovic)
Article is ~740 words. One note: sources conflict on whether Hurkacz retired in the first or second set at 6-4, 3-2, so I wrote it without specifying.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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