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Novak Djokovic to lose rankings points as part of US Open punishment, says USTA statement


The USTA have defended their decision to default Novak Djokovic from the US Open, accusing him of ‘negligent disregard of consequences.’

The world number one was kicked out of the tournament after he struck a female line judge with a ball he hit in frustration and being broken in the first set of his fourth round clash against Pablo Carreno Busta.

As well as his elimination form the tournament, Djokovic will lose ranking points, all prize money from the US Open, and will also likely be fined for the incident.

A USTA statement read: “In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the US Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open.

“Because he was defaulted, Djokovic will lose all ranking points earned at the US Open and will be fined all the prize money won at the tournament in addition to any or all fines levied with respect to the offending incident.”

The matter of rankings points may be a muddy one, with them currently under special protocols due to the coronavirus pandemic.


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.