Most controversial defaults in tennis ft. Denis Shapovalov and Novak Djokovic

Canadian tennis player Dennis Shapovalov recently made headlines for losing by default and getting disqualified from the Mubadala Citi D.C. Open quarterfinals against Ben Shelton in Washington DC. However, this is not the first time when a tennis player has been defaulted.

From big names of the '80s like John McEnroe to current tennis stars like Novak Djokovic, there are multiple instances when tennis players have been forced out of tournaments after a default.

With that said, here are some of the most controversial defaults in tennis featuring some big names associated with the game.

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#5 Andrey Rublev

Earlier this year, Russian professional tennis player Andrey Rublev made headlines for being defaulted from the Dubai Tennis Championships for allegedly resorting to obscene language while screaming at a line judge during his semifinal clash against Alexander Bublik.

In the third and final set, Rublev was trailing 6-5 when a Russian linesperson accused him of insulting him in Russian, following which chair umpire Miriam Bley defaulted the player.

After the incident, Rublev said that he had been wrongly accused as he spoke in English instead of Russian, and while the decision was not overturned on the court, a later appeal returned him his points and money won at the tournament.

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#4 Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios is known for his unorthodox behavior on court and the Australian has been involved in several controversies because of the same. However, there is only one instance wherein Kyrgios was defaulted for his conduct.

The incident took place during his 2019 Italian Open clash against Casper Ruud in the second round with the latter leading 6-3, 6-7, 2-1 when Kyrgios slammed his racket, kicked his bottle, and hurled a chair onto the court. He walked out of the court and was officially defaulted thereafter.

Nick Kyrgios at the 2019 Italian Open | Getty

He lost €33,635 euros in prize money along with 45 ATP points and was also fined €20,000 for the three unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

He later took to Instagram and said (via the Guardian):

“Very eventful day to say the least. Emotions got the better of me and I just wanted to say that the atmosphere was crazy out there today, just super unfortunate that it had to end in a default. Sorry Roma, see you again, maybe.”

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#3 John McEnroe

In addition to his number of sporting accomplishments, tennis legend John McEnroe was also known for his at-times volatile demeanor and the controversies associated with the same.

One such instance was the 1990 Australian Open when McEnroe was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct. This made him the first tennis player to be defaulted from a Grand Slam since 1963.

In his fourth-round encounter against Sweden's Mikael Pernfors, McEnroe received three violations following three different reactions by the American which ultimately led to a default. However, the American claimed that he was not aware that the default rule had changed from four violations to three, which was the case before 1990.

McEnroe later claimed had he known the rule, he would have contained himself and might have been able to win the match too. Talking about the same in his autobiography, he said (via Tennis.com):

“Of course I have to take responsibility for the whole incident. I truly believe, though, that if I had known the new rule, I would have contained myself. I sometimes went off the rails, but I always knew where I stood.”

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#2 Denis Shapovalov

The most recent default in tennis involved Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov, in an incident that ignited debate and discussion within the tennis fraternity.

Shapovalov was facing Ben Shelton in his quarterfinal match, the latter leading 7-6 (5), 6-6, 6-3 and was serving for the match, when the Canadian repeatedly smacked his racket on the court and then engaged in a heated argument with a fan seated in the stands.

Following the argument, chair umpire Greg Allensworth chose to default Shapovalov, something that his opponent Shelton did not agree with. The latter seemingly insisted with the umpire that he continue the match. Shelton claimed that he too heard the fan provoking Shapovalov to engage in the argument.

Even though the ATP supervisor was summoned to the court to look into the matter, the decision did not end in the Canadian's favor, and he was also deprived of any prize money or ranking points from the tournament.

Members of the tennis community and several tennis fans spoke up in support of Shapovalov and asked for a change in the rule. Several claimed that tennis players should not be expected to tolerate hecklers, and have to face penalties in terms of losing prize money and ranking when faced with such situations.

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#1 Novak Djokovic

In one of the most controversial incidents of the last two decades, then-World No.1 Novak Djokovic was defaulted during his Round-of-16 match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the 2020 US Open.

Djokovic was down 5-6 in the first set when he accidentally hit a woman line judge with a shot because of which she fell to the ground and was seen choking in distress. The Serb rushed to her aid at the time. Following this incident, he was defaulted out of the Major. He immediately left the stadium and was criticized by many for choosing not to address the situation.

Although the act was unintentional, as per the rules the Serb had to be defaulted for the incident. For a player of his stature to be involved in such an incident amounted to one of the biggest controversies of the decade.

He later took to his Instagram account and released a statement (via US Open):

"This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being."

He added, "I apologize to the US Open tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry."

Djokovic lost all points earned at the 2020 US Open and was fined his prize money won at the tournament.