"What the living F was Daniil Medvedev doing?"- Serena Williams' ex-coach urges for disqualification 'blanket rule' after Russian's Laver Cup outburst
Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs has criticized Daniil Medvedev over the Russian's controversial racket-throwing incident at the 2024 Laver Cup. Stubbs also called on the WTA and ATP Tour to enforce a rule that would result in players being immediately defaulted if their thrown rackets end up outside the court.
Daniil Medvedev was one of several high-profile names to feature for Team Europe at the 2024 Laver Cup. While the team eventually reclaimed the Laver Cup trophy, on an individual level, the team tennis event proved to be a rather disappointing outing for Medvedev. The former World No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion lost both his singles matches against Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton.
Medvedev's wild racket throw came during his loss to Shelton, after a wayward shot from the Russian gave the American a set point in the first-set tiebreak. Shelton's teammate Tiafoe tried his best to persuade officials courtside to have the World No. 5 disqualified, but the chair umpire refused to oblige, citing the fact that the racket did not hit anyone.
However, Rennae Stubbs, a former doubles No. 1 and the legendary Serena Williams' 2022 US Open coach, has a contrasting take on the subject. Stubbs recently assessed Medvedev's controversial 2024 Laver Cup act in an episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.
According to the 53-year-old, the racket, initially thrown by Daniil Medvedev in the direction of a section of the crowd, did not hit anyone in attendance because of a gap between the court and the audience.
"What the living F was he (Daniil Medvedev) doing throwing that racket that, well, it didn't go into the crowd because there was this gap between the court and the actual audience, so for him to throw it at the crowd he would have to really throw it higher or bounce it a lot harder," Stubbs said (at 25:28).
The former doubles No. 1 went on to urge the WTA and ATP Tour to make and enforce a 'blanket rule' that will automatically result in players' disqualifications if the rackets they throw on the court go outside it.
"But it went near a couple of the crew and a couple of people sitting around the court. I think the WTA and ATP Tour need to make a blanket rule; if you throw your racket and it leaves the court, no matter what, you are defaulted," Stubbs added.
Medvedev himself was apologetic about the incident in the aftermath of his loss to Shelton.
Daniil Medvedev turned self-critical over his Laver Cup 2024 racket-throwing controversy
At a post-match press conference, Daniil Medvedev apologized for throwing his racket the way he did during his loss to Ben Shelton at the 2024 Laver Cup. However, the Russian maintained that since the racket did not ultimately hit anyone, the chair umpire made the right decision by not defaulting him.
"I didn't want to throw it the way I threw it. I mean, I didn't want -- I wanted to throw it, like, on one place, so it was horrible from me. I got lucky. I didn't touch anyone. When you don't touch anyone in tennis, you don't get a disqualification. So that's it. I got, yeah, should not do this," Daniil Medvedev said.
Up next for Daniil Medvedev is his second-round opener against Gael Monfils at the 2024 China Open. The Russian reached the final of the ATP 500 last year, but was defeated at the last hurdle by reigning World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.