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
