Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic took to Instagram late Sunday to discuss the errant swing that has shaken the tennis world. Earlier in the day the heavily favored to win Djokovic was defaulted in his US Open match against Spain’s Pablo Carreño Busta. When he was down in points during the first set he swatted an out-of-play ball behind him, and that ball hit a lineswoman in the throat, knocking her to the ground.
In his statement, Djokovic wrote that the incident has left him “sad and empty” and that he was “extremely sorry to have caused [the lineswoman] such stress. So unintended. So wrong.”
He apologized to the US Open for his behavior, and thanked his family, team and fans.
The United States Tennis Association issued a statement, which reminded of a rule against “intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences.”
Djokovic will forfeit the $250,000 in prize money he had earned thus far in this year’s tournament.
There has been some pushback, with one sports commentator suggesting that rules-sticklers have turned this into a bad day for tennis, noting Djokovic’s “lack of malice and intention.”
From this angle one can certainly see the instant change in his demeanor, though one can argue if it stems from true worry about the lineswoman’s safety or from a vision of seeing his career bouncing out of bounds.
Even though Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York was empty due to coronavirus prevention measures, we’ve still got a number of angles on what happened.
Both Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova gave their two cents via Twitter.
Also, tennis podcaster Matt Roberts dug up this relevant excerpt from a 2016 interview.
Djokovic, winner of 17 Grand Slam singles titles (ranking him third of all time), has set records for most prize money earned in single seasons.