World No 5 Daniil Medvedev has been disqualified from the China Open after hitting a spectator in the face with a ball during his semi-final against Novak Djokovic.
The Russian was 7-5, 5-3 down on Monday when Djokovic hit a winner with the ball ricocheting off the back of the court resulting in Medvedev swinging a backhand in frustration.
But the ball flew into the crowd hitting a spectator who was sitting in the front row of the stand who was left clutching his eye and still appeared in pain as he walked out of the gallery, assisted by stadium staff.
After speaking with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official, Medvedev went to the net to shake hands with his Serbian opponent at the National Tennis Centre in Beijing.
“Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” Medvedev said, who made no protest as the umpire's decision. “I'm trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it. Hopefully I can apologise in person and see how he feels.
“I just hope he's OK. That's the most important. I just really care about him right now.
“The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to, like, just hit it anywhere, so it doesn't go out from the court. When I saw the result, I mean, I felt horrible because, again, I don't think I was ever close to such a situation.”
The situation would have brought bad memories flooding back to the 24-time Grand Slam winner who was kicked out of the 2020 US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.
The then world No 1 was playing in the opening set of his first round match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta but saw his tournament brought to an abrupt end.
“It's a bit of a shock to be honest. I hope that person is not badly injured,” said Djokovic, who will face Alex de Minaur in Tuesday's final.
“I also feel sorry for Daniil. I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. I am sure that Daniil did not want to do this intentionally.”
Both semi-finals ended prematurely in Beijing as Hubert Hurkacz retired with an adductor injury earlier in the day. Djokovic has a 33-0 record at the tournament, having been champion six times.
Australian De Minaur was leading the first semi 6-4 3-2 when his Polish opponent, who had struggled with movement throughout the match, retired.
It is far from the first time Medvedev's temper has got him into trouble on the tennis court.
At last year's US Open, he suffered a complete meltdown when a photographer walked on court during his first-round defeat by Benjamin Bonzi.
Earlier in 2025, his behaviour cost him a $42,500 fine and he was also fined a total of $76,000 for his antics at the Australian Open where he destroyed a net camera with his racquet in the first-round five-set win over Kasidit Samrej.
In his second-round loss in Melbourne to American teenager Learner Tien, Medvedev picked up further punishments for throwing his racquet and then failing to attend a post-match news conference.
In April, the 30-year-old smashed a racquet to pieces on his way to the first 6-0, 6-0 loss of his career against Matteo Berrettini in Monte Carlo. He was fined $7,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
At the start of 2026, Medvedev ended a run of three successive first-round exits at majors – and a morale-sapping 370 day wait for a Grand Slam victory – by winning his opening match against Jesper de Jong at Melbourne Park.
