Daniil Medvedev’s appearance in the semifinals of the China Open against Novak Djokovic came to an end with a disqualification.
Daniil Medvedev hit the ball into the stands out of frustration, and it hit a spectator, causing the fan to leave with a hand over his eye.
Daniil Medvedev is defaulted in the semifinals after hitting an audience member with a non-play ball. Djokovic now reaches his seventh career Beijing final. #ChinaOpen https://t.co/h1ATM973cy
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) October 5, 2026
Following the incident, Medvedev issued an apology and said he was looking for the spectator.
“I am terribly sorry. I am trying to get in touch with the spectator to apologize. It was 100% an accident. I did not hit out of anger. I wanted to prevent the ball from going out,” Medvedev said.
Daniil Medvedev after getting disqualified: "I feel horrible, I’m terribly sorry and would like to meet him and apologise in person if he wants to" Insane scenes at the 2026 China Open semi finals against Novak Djokovic. https://t.co/7lKiC20jdn
— Wivo (@WivoRN) October 5, 2026
Djokovic had a similar incident in the past. He was disqualified from the 2020 US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat, but now he was on the other side of it. He said after the match that he knows “how it feels.”
“I know how it feels to be disqualified in a big match” Novak Djokovic feels for his opponent Daniil Medvedev and the injured fan at the China Open ❤️ https://t.co/clyHx5cx93
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) October 5, 2026
It was a stunning scene at the China Open, and Djokovic will now face off in the final on Tuesday against Alex de Minaur.
