Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock opening-round exit at the Winston-Salem Open, losing 7-5 6-3 to world No. 92 Martin Damm, after threatening to leave tennis for another sport during the match.
The world No. 8 took a late entry into the ATP 250 event to get more matches under his belt ahead of the US Open, after going 1-2 across the Masters 1000 events in Canada and Cincinnati. As the top seed, he received a bye directly into the second round, but things did not go to plan.
Mid-match musings about other sports
The situation began to unravel early in the second set, when Medvedev started muttering to himself. Sitting on his bench while 1-2 down on serve at the changeover, the former world No. 1 was heard talking about another sport while looking up at the umpire.
“It’s so much better than tennis. Literally every sport on this planet, I think, is better. I prefer to play curling than tennis,” Medvedev declared. He continued muttering, but it was not picked up by on-court microphones.
At the next changeover, the top seed contemplated swapping sports. “Maybe I should start a career in pickleball. Not too late. With Jack Sock… in doubles,” he said. Medvedev then sipped his water before getting back up. Commentators noted: “Medvedev openly suggesting possible career moves. Heard him talking about curling earlier, now it’s pickleball.”
Code violation and Damm's win
The top seed received a code violation for ball abuse in the final game, while Damm successfully served out the biggest win of his career. The American will now face 15th seed Fabian Marozsan for a place in the quarter-finals.
Medvedev came around to shake hands with his conqueror before packing up and leaving the court. His mid-match comments later caught the attention of Jack Sock himself.
Sock's invitation
Sock, a former world No. 8, made his professional pickleball debut in May 2023, just three months before he retired from professional tennis. He now competes on the PPA Tour and currently sits at No. 26 in the world in the tour’s rankings.
The retired tennis star was happy to invite Medvedev to join him. “Come on over brotha dubs for sure,” Sock wrote on Instagram, adding a laughing emoji.
