Why the No. 1 Tennis Player in the World Was Just Disqualified at the US Open

UPDATE: Novak Djokovic released a statement about the unfortunate incident, sharing his regret.

View this post on Instagram

This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. 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. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. 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. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. 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. Cela ova situacija me cini zaista tužnim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se oseca linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, oseca se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog ocuvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je žao što sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogrešno. Želim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u važnu životnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao covek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici što mi pružaju snažnu podršku, kao i mojim navijacima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i žao mi je. Bio je ovo težak dan za sve.
A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

ORIGINAL POST

Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 tennis player in the world, was well on his way to winning a fourth US Open. He was cruising through this year's tournament and did not have Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer to compete with, as both men had opted out of this year's tournament due to the coronavirus. In fact, Djokovic had not lost a single match this whole year.

But things went awry during his competitive fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta on Sunday. Djokovic had just lost a game when he took a ball out of his pocket and struck it in anger. That ball unintentionally struck a lines judge in the throat. She was in such pain that she collapsed to the ground and would later have to be taken off the court.

You can see video of the incident below.

Novak Djokovic was the #1 seed and favorite to win the US Open has been DQ’d for hitting a line judge pic.twitter.com/kgxCRoD0QP
— SportsLine (@SportsLine) September 6, 2020

Djokovic just hit a lines person in the neck with an errant ball after losing a point. And I think he knew it. Yikes. pic.twitter.com/05iVUtpQ0Z
— thehojo (@thehojo) September 6, 2020

Djokovic rushed over to the lines person to check on her, after which he pleaded with the officials to give him a penalty, instead of a default. They rejected his appeals.

BREAKING: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has been DEFAULTED from the #USOpen, during the first set of his match against Pablo Carreno Busta, after a ball he hit toward the baseline struck a linesperson. pic.twitter.com/E8JnOJ3kgK
— TENNIS (@Tennis) September 6, 2020

As far as tennis tournaments go, the US Open has been the most dramatic in recent years. Who can forget Serena Williams's infamous quarrel with the chair umpire during her 2018 final against Naomi Osaka, where she accused the official of being a "thief" after he accused her of cheating with her coach?

Editor's Note: This post has been updated with additional information.