Daniil Medvedev Clashes With Umpire After Lack of Effort Violation

Daniil Medvedev had a heated clash with umpire Adel Nour during his semi-final at the 2025 China Open, after receiving a controversial code violation for "best effort" while clearly struggling with cramps.

For a moment, it looked like Medvedev was back to his best in Beijing.

The Russian reached the semi-finals without dropping a set, taking down some pretty tough opponents along the way. He beat Cameron Norrie, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Alexander Zverev – that’s no easy path at an ATP 500 event.

A Battle Against the Lowest Seed

In the semis, Medvedev faced Learner Tien, the lowest-ranked player he’d met all week. But it turned into a proper battle anyway.

Tien played brilliantly and actually led 4-2 in the opening set. Medvedev fought back to win it 7-5 after a great comeback.

The second set looked like it was going Medvedev’s way. He went up 5-3 and even served for the match.

But he couldn’t close it out. Lost four games in a row and dropped the set 5-7. Now it was all down to a deciding third set.

Cramps Change Everything

That’s when things started going wrong for Medvedev. At the start of the third set, he was clearly struggling with cramps.

He lost his first service game. In the second game, with Tien leading 30-15 on serve, the controversial moment happened.

Medvedev was bent over his racket before the point even started. You could see he was having trouble moving because of the cramps. Tien then served an ace down the T – Medvedev couldn’t even react to it, mostly because he just couldn’t move properly.

Then came the shocker.

Umpire Adel Nour announced: "Code violation, best effort, Mr. Medvedev."

Medvedev was stunned. Getting penalized for lack of effort when he was clearly struggling physically? He immediately demanded the supervisor be called.

The Heated Exchange

When the supervisor arrived, Medvedev made it clear he was trying really hard to hold himself back from saying something that would get him disqualified.

"If I tell him something bad, I will get disqualified. But what am I supposed to this guy? You don’t talk now [to the umpire], I talk to him. Why are you talking?"

The umpire tried to defend his decision. According to Nour, even though Medvedev wasn’t feeling well, he could have shown more interest in the game.

"I know that he’s not feeling well. But it’s not that he’s not going to move."

That didn’t go over well with Medvedev.

He accused the umpire of basically wanting him to retire instead of continuing to play. But there was a silver lining to the whole mess – the argument gave him time to recover from his cramps.

"So you prefer that I retire. Just say it in the camera that you prefer that the guys retire. But it’s good, at least I can talk to you for 10 minutes now, and maybe I’m not cramping then after 10 minutes."

Who Decides What’s “Best Effort”?

Medvedev really went after the umpire’s authority to make that call. He argued that Nour had no right to decide whether he was giving his best effort or not.

"I’m giving my best effort, so why the hell is he giving me the best effort [violation]. I’m telling you I’m giving my best effort, who are you to decide? Who are you? What’s your name? Why do you decide for me if I give my best effort or not?"

The frustration kept building. Medvedev brought up how he’s been trying to improve his on-court behavior since the US Open, and this incident felt like a step backward through no fault of his own.

"I want to do something bad that I’m not allowed to because I would be disqualified. Why is every referee in the world trying to intimidate me? I didn’t say one word. After the US Open, I’m trying to be good, and this guy did that, and I’m supposed to be good?"

The End

Despite the drama, Medvedev continued playing. But the cramps and the situation had clearly taken their toll.

He eventually retired when down 0-4 in the third set. And in a final bit of sarcasm, he told the umpire "good job" while shaking his hand.

It’s a tough situation for everyone involved. Players deal with physical issues all the time, and the line between struggling and not giving effort can be pretty blurry. This incident will probably spark more debate about when umpires should step in with these types of violations.