"Glad the woman is OK, we must do better than that" - When Martina Navratilova weighed in on Novak Djokovic's controversial US Open disqualification
Martina Navratilova once addressed Novak Djokovic's disqualification from the 2020 US Open after he accidentally struck a line judge with a tennis ball. The American said that players need to be more careful.
The incident occurred during Djokovic's fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta. After losing his serve at 5-4 and squandering three set points, the Serb, in frustration, hit a ball behind him without looking, which struck the line judge in the throat.
Although it was unintentional, the rules of tennis mandate disqualification if a player causes injury to an official, and after discussing with the tournament officials, Djokovic was defaulted from the match, ending his run in the tournament.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion lost all his ranking points earned at Flushing Meadows a year earlier as well as the $163,000 he received for reaching the Round of 16.
Martina Navratilova was among the tennis figures who commented on the incident. The 18-time Grand Slam champion told the BBC in 2020 that it was "stupid" for Novak Djokovic to have even considered such an action.
"Unbelievable what just happened on the court at the US Open - Novak Djokovic defaulted for inadvertently but stupidly hitting a lineswoman in the throat with a ball and the officials had no choice but to default. Wow. Glad the woman is OK - we must do better than that," Navratilova said.
Novak Djokovic on US Open 2020 default: "This whole situation has left me really sad and empty"
Novak Djokovic took to Instagram after being defaulted from the 2020 US Open to share his feelings. He said the incident left him "sad and empty" and mentioned that he had checked on the line judge afterwards and apologized for what had happened.
"This whole situation has left me really sad and empty," he wrote. "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.
The Serb also expressed gratitude to his team, family, and fans for being his "rock support" during that difficult time:
"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."