Daniil Medvedev was defaulted for hitting a spectator with the ball during his semi-final with Novak Djokovic at the China Open, but was it the correct decision or should he have been able to continue playing?

Medvedev was trailing Djokovic 7-5 5-3 and had lost a point when he hit the ball coming off the wall.

The spectator, who was ​sitting in the first row behind Medvedev, clutched his left eye and appeared to ‌be in pain as he walked out of the gallery, assisted by stadium staff.

Medvedev did not protest the umpire’s decision to disqualify him.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Jonathan Overend said: “From the first camera angle we saw the ball leaving Medvedev’s racket and weren’t sure where it had gone, but I later saw a different angle filmed from the stands and it clearly went straight from the racket into the face of this spectator and so from the minute that was obvious, it was an instant default.

“It was absolutely the correct decision. The rulebook is very clear about that and it was unfortunate for Medvedev. We take him at face value when he says he didn’t mean to do it, but it did leave his racket with force and it did strike the spectator.

“It appeared to me that umpire Mohamed Lahyani appeared initially to be uncertain about whether or not to default him but it was only when the supervisor got involved and further views were taken into account that it was clear that it did strike the spectator on the full and disqualification was the correct decision and clearly everyone on court felt that regrettably was the right course of action.”

Overend described Medvedev as a “curious character” with the former US Open champion mimicking Djokovic being tired or injured on court which he felt “didn’t feel appropriate” in such a match and such an opponent.

“For the disqualification to happen a few games later, it was out of character in the sense that I haven’t seen him do that before but with Medvedev over the years you expect the unexpected and there is a certain volatility to him so maybe we shouldn’t have been too surprised,” he said.

‘He wouldn’t intentionally hit a spectator’

Johanna Konta also feels Medvedev was “unfortunate” to have been defaulted after watching numerous replays of the incident.

The former British No 1 said: “I can almost with certainty say he wouldn’t intentionally hit a spectator with a ball. However, we have seen him do other things out of frustration from kicking the microphone, smashing rackets, and mouthing off.

“He’s got quite a vocabulary on him, so it’s not out of character for him to get frustrated but he obviously misjudged the angle of his racket, he misjudged the height of the backboard, he misjudged his whole surroundings.

“Frustration I wouldn’t necessarily say is conducive to clarity of mind, so more than anything if you’re feeling angry and frustrated, you won’t necessarily be in control of your ability as if you weren’t, so he wouldn’t have intentionally done that.”

Overend claims you have take Medvedev at “face value” with people believing he did not do it intentionally. When reviewing the footage, he said: “I don’t think you’re saying for certain that he’s not doing that deliberately because he hits it at pace.

“He slices it but it is travelling at pace. He’s intentionally coming right under the ball to stun it, but then he plays a really bad shot.”

Konta said: “Medvedev was caught in between when you slice and you try and hit it back to you against just hitting it flat against the backboard, but I think he realises that the ball kid is there and I think if you’re frustrated and you’re thinking ‘I can’t hit the backboard because if it hits the ball kid I’m going to get defaulted’ I wonder if he got caught in no-man’s land and that’s why it looks in between two shots because where he has hit it is right above the ball kid’s head.

“I cannot see Medvedev doing it intentionally. I cannot imagine what that felt like in the pit of his stomach.”

Do the ATP need to unify the criteria once and for all?

“Where tennis has to be careful here is making sure there isn’t a grey area with regards to this rule,” explained Overend.

“I think back to the Winston-Salem final of 2024 which was when Alex Michelsen launched a ball like Medvedev into the spectators, very, very close to the court, but then the umpire went over to the spectators to see whether anybody had been hit directly and because it didn’t appear to hit anybody directly or injure them, Michelsen, who was absolutely convinced that he was going to get defaulted from that match was effectively let off and he was allowed to continue.

“That to me is a grey area because that is almost saying the severity of the impact dictates whether the player is disqualified or not.

“Tennis has got to be quite careful that if there is a rule in place here, which there is, it’s enforced with consistency. In my opinion, launching a ball at pace, into spectators, is an instant disqualification and has to be for the safety of everyone. Players have been defaulted for less, let’s put it this way!”

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David Croft has questioned the FIA after the chaotic formation lap scenes at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, describing a software glitch that saw several drivers slowing to a crawl or stopping completely as a “farce”.

F1 and the FIA have new technical regulations this year which saw the introduction of a new power unit which is almost 50 per cent electric.

Sepang saw the first wet conditions of the season, and the FIA later confirmed that a combination of low engine speeds, low grip, wet-weather energy-management settings and the configuration of the circuit had caused an unintended loss of power.

Speaking on the F1 Show podcast, Sky Sports F1 commentator Croft questioned why such a scenario had not been simulated before the season began.

“We had a shakedown in Barcelona and six days of testing in Bahrain before the season started. Why on earth were situations like this not tried out before we went racing?” he said.

“Nikolas Tombazis [FIA single-seater director] says there are bugs all the time with software. Behind the scenes, people are working on those bugs, and what they try and do is do updates during the night time when people aren’t actually using their computers.

“Not during the course of a Grand Prix, when someone has now suddenly realised we’ve got a situation on our hands.

“Before the start of the race, it looked like it was the day where we were going to break the duck and have some wet weather running.

“We’ve had dry weather all the time, so we’ve had plenty of time to simulate this, to stop it happening in front of hundreds of millions of people during the course of a race.

“This falls on the FIA. I’m sorry, but you are the governing body. You are supposed to have the upper hand when it comes to these rules and regulations, the directives, the power units and everything.

“You weren’t on top of things when it came to that race, and it was a farce.”

When the drivers left the pit lane following a rain-delayed start, several almost ground to a halt, including race leader Max Verstappen and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, with numerous other drivers in the midfield also experiencing issues.

The unusual scenes left spectators and viewers unsure what was happening, with the aborted start followed by a lengthy wait while the problem was resolved.

The FIA said its emergency software fix took around 20 minutes to issue and install, although the overall disruption was considerably longer.

“We had no idea why those cars were going so slowly,” Croft said. “We had no idea why we were waiting around for 40 minutes to get a race on.

“There’s a lot going on, and we need to understand and appreciate that the FIA are trying to keep across a million and one different things.

“But sometimes taking a step back, identifying issues that could come during a season, during a scenario, and taking preventative measures is the best way forward, rather than just trying to react on the spur of the moment.

“I want to see a bit more strategic thinking when it comes to these sorts of issues.

“Let’s go through other simulations, FIA, and other things that could go wrong with these power units. Let’s get the bugs fixed and get the simulations in place now.”

Tombazis acknowledged after the race that the software had not been tested sufficiently in the specific conditions encountered at Sepang.

The FIA added that the issue had not been detected during testing or the laps to the grid and has promised a full review with the teams and power-unit manufacturers.

The controversy ultimately overshadowed what became an eventful and competitive Grand Prix as Verstappen emerged victorious, with Kimi Antonelli second and Hamilton completing the podium after a dramatic recovery.

“I’m just really frustrated that I’ve come away from Sepang – a brilliant weekend commentating, talking about a great track, brilliant drivers, some sensational racing – and what’s dominating the headlines is F1 farce because we see cars slowing down and stopping,” Croft added.

“I don’t want that for the sport that I love. I actually want people to be talking about great racing.

“That’s what we should be talking about, but these issues need addressing.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Singapore GP Sprint weekend schedule

Thursday October 8
11am: Drivers’ Press Conference
2pm: Paddock Uncut

Friday October 9
9am: Singapore GP Practice (session starts at 9.30am)*
11.30am: Team Bosses’ Press Conference
1pm: Singapore GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 1.30pm)*

Saturday October 10
9am: Singapore GP Sprint build-up*
10am: Singapore GP SPRINT*
1pm: Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
2pm: SINGAPORE GP QUALIFYING*
4pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday October 11
11.30am: Grand Prix Sunday: Singapore GP build-up
1pm: THE SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX
3pm: Chequered Flag: Singapore GP reaction
4pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 heads straight to Singapore for the last Sprint weekend of the season with track action starting this Friday, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime

Martin O’Neill has confirmed his decision to stay on as Celtic manager after reflecting on his future over the international break.

The Celtic manager admitted before the international break that he would consider his future after three consecutive defeats and talk to the board.

The 74-year-old has now declared himself up for the challenge after two defeats by Rangers sandwiched a Europa League setback against Ferencvaros.

When asked how ready and determined he was to lead the team forward, O’Neill told the club’s Celtic Player: “I am. I’m extremely prepared for it.

“We had a difficult week. It can happen, you can lose to your arch-rivals, you can lose a European game.

“It’s certainly not the end of the world, as it seemed to be described. But (I’m) ready to go.

“I did think I would take a little bit of time and it didn’t take me that much time to think about it.

“I want to lead the club, I want to try and win the league, which is what we set out to do, and just as determined now as ever before.

“It was a time of reflection for a moment or two and, yes, some things that you think about.

“But overall, I’m back, I’m raring to go and the team’s ready.”

Sunday 11th October 11:00am


Kick off 12:00pm

O’Neill, whose side face Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, live on Sky Sports, added: “What you try and do is analyse the things that you’ve done or perhaps the things that you haven’t done.

“Throughout my managerial time, I’ve been exactly that. I think I look to myself, first of all. Maybe a wee bit different as a player, because I think I used to blame every other player for my own bad performance. But as a manager, you’ve got to look at yourself.

“And if you feel as if something has dropped away, of course you have to analyse it.

“Now, there wasn’t a great deal in some of the games. If we get the equaliser just after half-time in the Rangers game, totally different ball game, totally different. But it wasn’t to be. So you have to reflect on a few things like that.

“But overall, did the reflection, did all of that and a bit of self-analysing and just prepared for the battle.”

O’Neill also revealed that Jota had played 45 minutes of a training-ground friendly against Falkirk on Friday, as the Portuguese winger steps up his comeback attempts following 18 months out with a knee injury.

The Celtic manager has also been encouraged by Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand getting back on the training pitch following hamstring injuries.

O’Neill added he would assess the fitness of Hyun-Jun Yang on Friday after the South Korea winger experienced hamstring trouble on international duty.

Analysis: Celtic were always calm over O’Neill future

Sky Sports News’ Anthony Joseph:

Martin O’Neill was never going to be sacked by Celtic after three humiliating defeats in one week before the international break – but there was a real potential of him walking away from the job.

After losing 1-0 at home to Rangers on September 20, O’Neill said he would take some time to think about whether he would continue as manager of the club.

Those comments sparked widespread reports and supporter speculation that the 74-year-old was on the verge of resigning.

Sky Sports News understands Celtic have always remained calm about the situation, despite the recent results. There was no appetite to pull the trigger themselves, especially when the teams are sitting at the top of the league.

That was proven when Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson backed O’Neill in a statement announcing the club’s latest financial results. He said: “We will now come together and support Martin and the players, as we focus our efforts on achieving success domestically and in the Europa League.”

The ball has been completely in O’Neill’s court and – as he has said today – he very quickly indicated his intention and desire to stay.

Celtic face a tricky next five games back – Motherwell away (live on Sky Sports), Benfica away, Hearts at home (live on Sky Sports), Celta Vigo at home and Hibernian away (live on Sky Sports).

It’s going to be an interesting month ahead for O’Neill and Celtic.