Men’s tennis number one Novak Djokovic has been disqualified from the US Open after accidentally hitting a line ball.
The top seed was bidding for his 18th Grand Slam victory but his title hopes were dashed after he lost in the fourth round to Pablo Carre ચોo Busta.
After losing a game in the first set, Djokovic hit a ball next to him and hit him from behind.
The ball hit the female line judge, who went to her knees at the back of the court and reached to her neck.
After several minutes of discussions with officials on the court – Djokovic was arguing his case – he withdrew from the competition before it was made public.
After the decision was made, the tennis star collected his racket and walked off the court.
It appears that Djokovic did not mean to hit the line judge and he quickly ran for his investigation, but similar incidents in the past have disqualified players.
Tournament organizers said Djokovic hit the ball dangerously or recklessly, “ignoring the results”.
In a statement, US Open officials said he would lose all ranking points he earned and would also be fined the prize money he won.
Djokovic faces another fine for not holding a press conference when he was seen leaving the venue in a car.
Novak Djokovic walked out of court after being declared unfit
The Serbian player was a favorite to win the title as he did not lose a match the entire season.
His departure from the shock means there is no man left in the tournament who has previously won a Grand Slam singles title.
Second seed Dominic Thiem, who has reached the Grand Slam final three times without a win, is now the most ranked player left.
Tim Heinman, who was disqualified 25 years ago for accidentally hitting a ball girl with a ball during a doubles match at Wimbledon, said he had no doubt it was the right decision.
Speaking on Amazon Prime, he said: “It’s amazing for me to talk about this because it happened to me at Wimbledon in 1995. It was a moment of frustration when I hit the ball while I wasn’t watching and I hit a ball girl. In the ear. “
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