Image via Frank Franklin II/ AP //

Very bad luck…

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has just been disqualified from the US Open after hitting a lineswoman with a ball. The incident came after Novak lost the first set against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, when he hit a tennis ball in frustration. In perhaps the worst luck possible, the ball hit the lineswoman square in the throat, causing her to gasp and collapse to the ground. Djoko clearly being concerned, quickly walked over to check if she was okay, and after a couple of minutes she got up and left the court. However, after a short discussion with the tournament ref, the umpire had declared that Carren Busta had taken the game by default.

It’s pretty rough for Novak, since he was the odds-on favourite to win the tournament as famous rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are both absent from the US Open due to COVID-19. However, it seems the general consensus is that the disqualification was the right choice, with BBC tennis commentator Gigi Salmon saying “Unquestionably he should have been defaulted” while rival players such as Alexander Zverev commenting that “There is a rule in place for it. I think the supervisors and all of them are just doing their job. Very unlucky for Novak”.

Pretty crazy stuff, check out video of the whole encounter below.

"there's no way Novak Djokovic can possibly look any worse this year"

Djokovic:pic.twitter.com/lNakdpAxDD

— Eoin Sheahan (@EoinSheahan) September 6, 2020