Daniil Medvedev has been stripped of 200 ranking points and £165,000 in prize money after being disqualified from the China Open. The Russian's semi-final against Novak Djokovic in Beijing ended abruptly with the Serb just three points from victory.
Medvedev was immediately defaulted for hitting a spectator in the face with a ball. After a Djokovic winner, the ball bounced off the back of the court towards Medvedev and the world No.6 accidentally smacked it into the eye of a man in the first row behind him.
Medvedev apologises after default
Medvedev was kicked out of the tournament, with Djokovic put through to face Alex de Minaur in the final. The 2021 US Open champion was left feeling "horrible" and apologised in his post-match interview with the media.
But ATP rules dictate that he loses all ranking points and prize money ($219,925) gained from the tournament. Medvedev is able to appeal, but given that he did not protest his innocence on court in China, it appears unlikely to do so.
Precedent for successful appeals
There is precedence for winning appeals, though. His friend and fellow Russian Andrey Rublev overturned his charge of unsportsmanlike conduct in Dubai in 2024, which initially saw him stripped of all his prize money and ranking points. After winning his appeal, he paid only a £28,700 fine.
Speaking in Beijing, Medvedev said: "Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all. I'm trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it. Hopefully I can apologise in person and see how he feels.
"100 per cent accident. You can see that I didn't hit the ball in anger. Actually I do a lot of bad things, but usually ball abuse is not my thing.
"The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it doesn't go out from the court. When I saw the result, I felt horrible because I don't think I was ever close to such a situation.
"So yeah, the most important, I hope that he's okay cause you never know with these types of situations. It was horrible feeling because, again, that's not what I usually do. I didn't want to hit...
"I mean, you can see that there is zero anger in this moment. It's not especially frustration. I don't hit it hard. Yeah, it hit him. I feel terribly sorry for him. I just hope he's okay. That's the most important.
"The rest we move on. I just really care about him right now. Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow."
Djokovic's reaction and next steps
Djokovic was defaulted himself at the 2020 US Open and admitted: "Definitely shocking ending of the match. I didn't see what happened. As soon as I made the winner, I turned around and went for the towel. We saw what happened on the court.
"There was a person that was obviously, yeah, injured or not feeling good. I don't know the severity of the injury. I hope it's nothing serious.
"I'm also feeling sorry for Daniil because I know the feeling. 2020 US Open for similar circumstances I was also disqualified. It's horrible because I'm sure that Daniil didn't have the intention of injuring anybody in the stands, but it happens."
Djokovic's semi-final victory means he remains a perfect 33-0 in Beijing, where he is already a six-time champion. The last of those titles came in 2015 and he has not won a title anywhere since Athens last November.
Medvedev, who won the Hangzhou Open last week, will be desperate to bounce back quickly at the Shanghai Masters where the fifth seed will face either Martin Landaluce or Jan-Lennard Struff in round two.
