Woah, what a sequence of events. The #1 player in the world just had to default his match and pack his bags at the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a lineswoman in the throat with a ball. There was no malicious intent at all and he wasn’t even looking when he hit it, but it hit the woman right in the adam’s apple.
He had hit a similar ball at the wall not too long before as a result of frustration. After the judges deliberated for some time, they decided to force Novak to default, or forfeit the match. Apparently some of what had to do with the decision was that the woman had to exit to match after getting hurt. Tennis has some weird rules, but it seems as though this was the right call. It would set a bad precedence if they had let the #1 player in the world off. Definitely is a huge shake-up to the rest of the men’s draw.
