Novak Djokovic almost got himself kicked out of the 2026 Australian Open after doing something that looked way too similar to his infamous US Open meltdown from six years ago.
Back in 2020, Djokovic had one of the worst moments of his entire career at the US Open. He was the top seed and expected to win the whole thing.
Everything was going smoothly until his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | 38 | 8,360 | 18 - 6 |
Djokovic was leading 5-4 in the first set and had three chances to close it out on his opponent’s serve. Then things went sideways fast. He lost nine of the next 10 points and suddenly found himself down a break at 5-6.
Frustrated by how quickly things had turned against him, Djokovic smacked a ball toward the ballkids behind the baseline.
The ball hit a line judge.
Just like that, he was disqualified from the tournament. Game over.
History Almost Repeats Itself
Fast forward six years, and Djokovic nearly did it again. The setup’s a bit different now – there are no line judges on court anymore since the automatic line calling system handles all that. But the ball kids are still there.
During his match against Botic van de Zandschulp, Djokovic fired a ball directly at one of the ballkids.
There didn’t seem to be any reason for it. Just out of nowhere, he launched the ball in their direction.
Here’s the really crazy part: it wasn’t even the first time he’d done this at this tournament. He pulled a similar stunt during his second-round match against Francesco Maestrelli in the third set.
That first incident wasn’t quite as close to hitting someone. But the van de Zandschulp match? That ball got dangerously close to making contact.
Why Risk It?
Nobody really knows why Djokovic keeps doing this. You’d think after getting disqualified once, he’d be extra careful about where he’s hitting balls when he’s frustrated.
The behavior seems pretty reckless for someone who knows exactly what can happen.
At least his tournament run isn’t over yet. Djokovic made it to the quarterfinals after his fourth-round opponent Jakub Mensik had to withdraw from the tournament.
When reporters asked him about the incident after beating van de Zandschulp, Djokovic did apologize. But his explanation didn’t really explain much of anything.
"I apologize for that. That was not necessary. In the heat of the moment, and I… yeah, I was lucky there. I’m sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody."
He definitely got lucky. If that ball had actually hit the ballkid, his tournament would’ve been over right there.
His next opponent will be Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals. Djokovic beat Musetti pretty recently at the 2025 Athens Open final, so he’ll probably feel confident going into that match.
But he’s going to need to keep his frustration in check if he wants to avoid another embarrassing exit from a major tournament.
