Novak Djokovic Defaulted From US Open After Hitting Line Judge With Ball

And just like that, his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title came to an end

by Abigail Adams

Sep 6, 2020

UPDATE (5:15 p.m. ET): The U.S. Tennis Association has announced Novak Djokovic "will lose all ranking points earned at US Open and will be fined the prize money won at the tournament" after striking a line judge with a ball Sunday "with negligent disregard."

ORIGINAL STORY: Novak Djokovic saw his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title come to an end after a costly mistake cost him his spot in the US Open.

The top-seeded men's tennis player went down 6-5 in a set against Pablo Carreno Busta during their fourth-round match when he decided to take his frustration out on a ball.

Instead of simply hitting it out of bounds, however, he wound up striking a line judge ... in the throat. He was disqualified a short time later.

Here's how the incident unfolded, via NBC Sports:

Yikes.

2020 certainly hasn't been the best for Djokovic, who tested positive for COVID-19 in July after hosting a tennis tournament in Serbia.

Thumbnail photo via Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports Images

Thumbnail photo via Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports Images
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