9 rudest tennis moments of 2024, from racket smashing to 'cheating' claims

09/04/2024 08:23 AM

Andy Murray’s meltdown in Dubai was one of the rudest moments seen from any tennis player in 2024, but he’s certainly not the only culprit.

Tennis players behaving badly is nothing new – but the recent scandal involving Yulia Putintseva and a US Open ball girl has put it back in everyone’s minds.

Metro.co.uk takes a look back at the 10 wildest moments from this year, with Emma Raducanu and Novak Djokovic both on the list…

Yulia Putintseva — US Open

Yulia Putintseva went viral at the US Open for brutally disrespecting a ball girl in her match against Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini.

The tense incident occurred with Putintseva a set and 4-2 down as the young girl – doing her job correctly – threw balls to Putintseva before she took her serve.

But there were incredibly awkward and uncomfortable scenes, as Putintseva made no attempt to catch or pick them up, instead deciding to glare the girl down with her arms down by her side.

The Russian-born player from Kazakhstan was slammed on social media for her actions, with one fan calling her a ‘nasty person’.

Others said the ball girl ‘should’ve taken the ball and thrown it Putintseva’s face’.

Taylor Fritz — Wimbledon

Taylor Fritz brutally trolled Arthur Rinderknech during their grudge match at Wimbledon this summer.

Fritz and Rinderknech got into a heated back-and-forth at the net after their match on Court 12, with the American 13th-seed winning 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Fritz told Rinderknech to ‘have a nice flight home’ at the All England Club — in a rematch of their incredibly tense and feverish French Open clash last year.

Asked what happened after that, Fritz explained in his post-match press conference that the Frenchman pointed out he was still in doubles.

‘I said, 'Oh, congrats. Good for you’ – then he started acting like, 'Why are you blah, blah, blah?' – I’m like, 'Dude, you know what you said’,’ Fritz said. ‘Don't disrespect me before the match and then expect me to be all nice after the match.’

Andy Murray — Dubai

Andy Murray lost his head during his 6-2 6-4 defeat to fifth-seed Ugo Humbert in the last 16 of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.

Murray was seen hitting his racket against the umpire’s chair in anger during the match.

The British legend also screamed ‘I don’t have a clue what I’m doing’ at his coaching box and said that he was having ‘awful feelings on the tennis court’.

Novak Djokovic — Olympics

Novak Djokovic was slammed on social media for cupping his ear to the crowd amid their huge support for Rafael Nadal during their Olympic Games showdown.

Nadal went into the match against his fellow Big Three rival with an injury and some tennis fans were left furious at the Serbian’s apparent lack of sportsmanship – especially those sat in the crowd at Roland-Garros – who loudly booed him.

‘Take your hand off your ear and be respectful to a legend,’ @SuveykeYusuf posted on X. ‘Be humble.’

‘What’s he so mad about?’ @12SkiptomyLou added. ‘He resents the public over cheering for a guy that’s semi-retired and has won 14 times at RG? That’s insecure as heck.’

‘This is so sad,’ @Nina201710 said. ‘Why does he need validation like this when he has everything!

‘That crowd doesn't like him. Just win with dignity, man. Let the win be enough. You're not getting anything else.’

Hubert Hurkacz — French Open

French Open star Hubert Hurkacz was blasted for ‘disrespecting’ female umpire Alison Hughes with a bizarre request against Grigor Dimitrov.

The fourth-round battle on Court Suzanne Lenglen was overshadowed by a strange incident as Hurkacz tried to get Dimitrov to help him change umpires.

‘You wanna continue?’ Hurkacz said to Dimitrov during a change of ends in the third set after the Polish star was infuriated by a decision going against him.

‘You wanna continue with the lady here or you wanna change?’ Hurkacz added, clearly irked as he edged towards French Open elimination.

‘Change what?’ Dimitrov awkwardly responded as Hurkacz hit back: ‘Change the umpire!’

Tennis fans slammed Hurkacz on social media as @LoliLondon posted on X: ‘The whole conversation is weird [and] highly disrespectful towards Alison Hughes, who is one of the most experienced tennis umpires.’

Emma Raducanu — Nottingham Open

Emma Raducanu was left angry at ‘insane’ umpiring calls in her win over Ena Shibahara at the Nottingham Open, then went on a furious rant in her press conference.

‘I mean, I felt like I was playing two v one on court, it was insane,’ the British star said. ‘I would have used probably at least four [challenges]. A lot of the time they go both ways.

‘Today, I felt they were all one way, against me, but it just makes me feel better that I managed to beat her and the umpire as well at the same time. It is difficult when there is no challenge but it is something that everyone has to deal with.

‘Maybe it was just trying to make the match more competitive… It was 6-1, 5-1 and all of a sudden, first point, serving at 5-3, it’s a really bad line call. It’s something I had to deal with and overcome.’

Pavel Kotov — Australian Open

An Australian Open ball kid was left absolutely terrified when Russian player Pavel Kotov smashed a ball towards her at the start of the year.

After losing a point during his match with Arthur Rinderknech, Kotov turned around and lifted the racket above his head – slamming the ball against the back of the wall in frustration – as the young girl stood dangerously close.

‘Disgraceful arrogance, and didn't even acknowledge or say sorry to the ball girl,’ one tennis fan posted on social media.

Another user added: ‘As a parent of a ball kid, I find it absolutely disgusting that he was not disqualified.’

Coco Gauff — Olympics

US flagbearer Coco Gauff claimed she was ‘getting cheated’ by poor decisions as she was dumped out of the women’s singles competition at the Paris Olympics with a 7-6 6-2 defeat to Donna Vekic.

‘I never argue these calls but he called it out before I hit the ball, Gauff said in an on-court meltdown. ‘It always happens to me on this court!

‘Call the supervisor. It always happens to me, every time. You understand that I always have to advocate for myself, all the time.

‘I’m getting cheated in this game. You guys are not fair to me.’

Andy Murray — Miami Open

Andy Murray suffered an on-court meltdown in his Miami Open defeat to Tomas Machac, furiously ranting at the umpire and spectators.

Murray’s battle against Machac was packed with controversy with the two-time Wimbledon winner lashing out at umpire Carlos Bernardes on several occasions.

The former world No.1 got increasingly angry with spectators moving in the stands during points, which he felt was distracting.

He pleaded with umpire Bernardes to take action and then lost his cool when the Brazilian official asked what Murray was talking about.

‘What are YOU talking about?’ Murray said. ‘What are you talking about?

‘It’s quite obvious when people are standing up between every single [inaudible].’

Murray then turned to Miami Open stewards and berated them for not keeping fans seated as he screamed: ‘Useless! Useless!’

Murray accused Bernardes of holding ‘grudges’ – perhaps in reference to previous matches – and later slammed him for making an ‘awful decision’.

Bernardes also angered Murray when he slapped him with a time violation, leading to sarcastic applause and muttering of ‘typical’ from the Briton.