Djokovic dragged into disqualification storm as tennis world erupts over 'shameful' act
Tennis fans are crying foul over an incident involving Lorenzo Musetti at the French Open that has been compared to Novak Djokovic's infamous disqualification at the 2020 US Open. Musetti reached his first semi-final at Roland Garros with a 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 win over American Frances Tiafoe, but the victory was overshadowed by drama after he kicked a ball that hit a female line judge in the chest.
The Italian took out the opening set but cut a frustrated figure in the second stanza and lashed out by kicking a ball towards the line judge between points. The female official was only standing about three metres away when the ball struck her in the chest, leaving Tiafoe stunned at the other end of the court.
The American gestured towards the chair umpire to take action against Musetti, who was eventually issued a code violation over the incident. But many thought the Italian should have been disqualified, with Tiafoe making his feelings clear about the ruling after the match.
"I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical, but it is what it is," the American said. "Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is."
The incident had more than a few similarities to the one at the 2020 US Open that saw Djokovic disqualified after he hit a ball that struck a female line judge in the throat. Unlike Djokovic though, Musetti avoided being defaulted, with angry fans taking to social media to accuse tennis officials of double standards.
Djokovic accidentally hits a line judge — defaulted instantly.Musetti does the same, no action taken.If it were Novak, media would erupt, narratives would burn, and he'd be tennis' villain of the day.The double standards aren't just real, they're loud.@DjokerNole #Djokovic pic.twitter.com/jtKc0YmeRg
— Shane (@Shanegupta22) June 3, 2025
I love Musetti, but if we're enforcing rules the same 4 everyone, this is 100% a default. That said, I don't believe he should be, just like Djokovic SHOULDN'T have in 2020, but he was, & this is a textbook example of a double standard. #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/asDgUXtsP3
— Rodney 🐊 (@RottenKnee23) June 3, 2025
No. And unfortunately as an Italian, as much as I like his tennis I am ashamed. I hope @atptour does something about it. As much as I don't love Djokovic, he got disqualified for something much less intentional
— an exploded view (@anexplodedview) June 3, 2025
Perhaps what saved Musetti was the fact the line judge was not injured after being struck by the ball and continued to officiate for the rest of the match. In Djokovic's infamous case though, the official was in clear discomfort after the ball struck her throat and required fairly lengthy medical attention. Even still, the rule around disqualifications is far from clear.
Musetti admitted that he feared being defaulted but was quick to apologise for what he described as an unfortunate accident. "Honestly, it was a really unlucky coincidence. I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm (anybody), of course," he said.
"So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, 'Sorry, I apologise to everyone. It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably (he) let me continue."
Musetti didn't let the incident derail him as he regrouped from losing the second set to take the next two and extend his French Open record to 13-4. Two of those losses on the Roland Garros clay have come against former champion Novak Djokovic, with one against reigning champ, Carlos Alcaraz, who he meets in the semi-final.
Alcaraz powered his way past American 12th seed Tommy Paul in a completely dominant win in their quarter-final. The Spanish World No.2 lost just five games in another one-sided 6-0 6-1 6-4 victory against Paul, who was unable to produce his best tennis with a heavily strapped right thigh. "I'm sorry you wanted to watch more tennis. I had to do my work," Alcaraz told the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd.
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