Novak Djokovic apologises after hitting line judge with ball at US Open: I’m so sorry for my behaviour

World number one Novak Djokovic issued an apology for his behaviour on Sunday after getting disqualified from the US Open 2020 for hitting a line judge with the tennis ball during his Round 4 match.

Djokovic was trailing 5-6 in the first set during his match against Pablo Carreño Busta when he took out his frustration by smacking a tennis ball, which went and hit a female line judge on her throat.

With the line judge screaming out in pain as she fell to the ground, a horrified Djokovic ran over to her and apologised.

It was purely an accident from the Serbian but the officials were in no mood to let Djokovic off with a warning or fine.

Tournament referee Soeren Friemel, Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli and chair umpire Aurelie Tourte had a discussion with Djokovic, who pleaded that he didn’t hit the line judge intentionally, after which they decided to default the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

“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 apologise 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,” Djokovic wrote on his Instagram account.

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 ini zaista tunim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se osea linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, osea se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog ouvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je ao to sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogreno. elim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u vanu ivotnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao ovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici to mi pruaju snanu podrku, kao i mojim navijaima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i ao mi je. Bio je ovo teak dan za sve.

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

The Grand Slam rules state: “Players shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the precincts of the tournament site.

“The referee, in consultation with the Grand Slam chief of supervisors may declare a default for either a single violation of this code.”

Djokovic eventually walked over to shake hands with a stunned Carreno Busta.