Tennis fans have called for a major change after Novak Djokovic’s memorable racquet smash in the fifth set of the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz resulted in a paltry $8000 fine – the same penalty handed to teenage world No.66 Mirra Andreeva. Djokovic lost his cool after dropping a service game to Alcaraz, with the Spaniard going on to finally break the Serbian’s stranglehold on the famous grasscourt tournament.
A frustrated Djokovic destroyed his racquet on the net post in his losing effort against Alcaraz, attracting a reprimand from the chair umpire in the process. It came after an earlier frosty confrontation with the official after being handed a time violation.
His racquet smash attracted the same penalty handed to Andreeva, which cost the 16-year-old a point penalty in her round of 16 defeat at the hands of Madison Keys in an enthralling three-set showdown. Her penalty proved far more controversial however, with her racquet hitting the ground rather than the net post, in what looks to be a significantly less deliberate motion in comparison to Djokovic’s clear eruption.
Her equipment didn’t break in that incident, but nonetheless attracted the same $8000 penalty in the wake of the tournament. Many tennis fans considered it grossly unfair, particularly considering the financial penalty would be substantially more damaging in comparison to Djokovic, whose already significant wealth meant it would not have nearly the same impact.
Many fans took to social media to point out the discrepancy. A common argument was that while both incidents were worthy of some sort of sanction, Djokovic would not be incentivised to alter his on-court behaviour given how little an $8000 fine would affect him in comparison to Andreeva.
