Daniil Medvedev’s Beijing Open 2026 run ended in a flash when he was disqualified from his semi-final against Novak Djokovic after a ball struck a spectator in the face. The match was still live, the crowd was still settling after a winner, and then the point turned into a default.
Medvedev trailed Djokovic 7-5 5-3 when the Serbian drove a winner beyond him for 15-15. The ball bounced off the back of the court and Medvedev swiped at a backhand in annoyance, sending it into the front row of the stand behind him. The fan doubled over holding his face and was still holding his eye as he was helped out of the arena.
The moment mattered because the match was not a routine stop on the schedule. It was a semi-final, with a place in the final on the line, and the default ended it immediately. Medvedev then spoke with umpire Mohamed Lahyani and an ATP official before approaching the net to shake hands with Djokovic, who later said he was shocked by what had happened.
Medvedev did not hide from the incident. “Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all,” he said, adding that he was trying to get in touch with the fan if he wanted it and hoped to apologise in person. “I just hope he’s OK,” he said. “That’s the most important. I just really care about him right now.” The unresolved question is how badly the spectator was hurt beyond being helped out of the arena; that was not stated.
Djokovic, who had just won the point that led into the incident, softened the edges of the moment without softening the outcome. He said he hoped the person was not badly injured and felt sorry for Medvedev as well, adding that he knew exactly how it felt to be disqualified in a big match and was sure Medvedev did not mean to do it intentionally. That sympathy did not change the ruling. Medvedev’s offence was serious enough to instantly default him, and by the end of the match he was told he would lose the points and prize money he had earned in Beijing.
Defaults in tennis are rare and come when players violate the sport’s code of conduct, including ball abuse, physical or verbal abuse, or racquet abuse. Players can be allowed three code violations before disqualification, but Medvedev’s act crossed the line immediately. The 30-year-old has struggled to control his emotions throughout his career, and this was another night when that problem cost him more than a match. Djokovic was defaulted from the 2020 US Open for a similar incident, and Beijing ended with the same hard lesson: one angry swing can wipe out everything that came before it.
