Arabic version: استبعاد ميدفيديف بعد إصابة كرة لمتفرج في بطولة الصين المفتوحة

According to BBC News, Daniil Medvedev was defaulted from the China Open after a ball he struck hit a spectator in the face during his semi-final against Novak Djokovic. The third seed was trailing Djokovic 7-5 5-3 when the incident occurred.

Djokovic had hit a winner beyond Medvedev for 15-15. The ball ricocheted off the back of the court and Medvedev swiped at a backhand in annoyance, sending it into the air and into a spectator seated in the front row behind him. The fan doubled over while holding his face and was still holding his eye while being helped from the arena.

After speaking with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official, Russia’s Medvedev went to the net to shake hands with Djokovic. Medvedev will lose the points and prize money earned during his run to the last four in Beijing.

Djokovic, who was defaulted from the 2020 US Open following a similar incident, said he felt for both the spectator and Medvedev. “It’s a bit of a shock to be honest. I hope that person is not badly injured,” he said. “I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match.” Djokovic added that he was sure Medvedev had not intended to hit the person.

The 30-year-old Medvedev has previously spoken about trying to improve his on-court behaviour. In 2025, he told BBC Sport that his desire to win brought out “a lot of adrenaline” and energy, which could sometimes be “a good energy” and sometimes “a bad one.”