"A violent man is more protected than a woman"; "Should be suspended" - Fans aghast by Daniil Medvedev's $76,000 Australian Open fine

Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev was recently fined AUD 76,000 for misconduct during the 2025 Australian Open. The decision later sparked widespread reactions from the tennis community.

Medvedev drew attention in Melbourne for the wrong reasons. During his first-round match against 418th-ranked Kasidit Samrej, the Russian furiously struck the net camera multiple times because a net cord altered the ball’s trajectory, causing him to lose a point. Although he eventually secured a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory, he was slapped with a staggering $10,000 fine for his actions.

The 2021 US Open champion displayed his anger later during his second-round defeat to Learner Tien. It happened when Tien broke Medvedev's serve to take a 4-3 lead, courtesy of a perfectly placed lob that landed on the baseline. In anger, the 28-year-old threw his racket toward the sideline, which got him a point penalty. He also skipped the press conference following the match.

Medvedev was reportedly fined $66,000 for his actions in the second-round match, bringing his fines to $76,000.

"Honestly I hope not too big (the fine for breaking the camera) because probably, like, the fine is usually for breaking the racket, and the camera is going to cost some, but I don't think GoPro is that expensive. But what I have to say is that the camera was very, very strong, because my racket didn't handle the damage but the camera did," he said in a press conference.

"It broke down but there was not one thing going out from the camera. It was very strong. I was very surprised, because when I did it, you want to smash the racket in pieces, and when I saw the racket, I was like, 'Okay, time to take a new one I guess'," he added.

Several fans reacted to the update with many condemning Medvedev's actions. One fan wrote:

"A violent man is more protected by tennis twitter and the tennis community than a woman who celebrates the crowd booing her."

"If you’re top 25 I would make the fines bigger - can’t do this stuff on show courts," a fan said.

"Players with such a behaviour should be suspended… they will stop to do this.. it’s very bad to see !" Another opined.

Daniil Medvedev's total earnings from his Australian Open campaign were reportedly $124,000. Noting the contrast between his earnings and the fine, a fan remarked:

"Okay, so he still made nearly $50k for doing virtually no work."

Here are a few more reactions from the fans:

"Fine for not attending his presser? Seriously? 😤" One fan commented.

"He should be fined another $10,000 for bad style," another chimed in.

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Daniil Medvedev vented his frustration last year during the Nitto ATP Finals

Daniil Medvedev at 2025 Australian Open - Image Source: Getty

Similar scenes unfolded during Daniil Medvedev's opening round-robin match against Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals in Turin last year. Frustrated with the way the match was going, Medvedev repeatedly threw his racket into the air.

The Russian dropped the opening set 6-4 and found himself trailing 4-2 in the second after Fritz secured a break. Overcome with frustration, Medvedev repeatedly tossed his racket into the air and eventually held it by the frame while Fritz prepared to serve.

Fritz ultimately secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory, but Medvedev drew attention for all the wrong reasons.