While the goal is to avoid them, unforced errors happen on the tennis court. The game is played by humans, after all, and humans make mistakes. But what Nick Kyrgios did against top seed Daniil Medvedev during Sunday night’s US Open match between the two goes beyond a typical unforced error.
Medvedev got a racket on a shot from Kyrgios but did little else. The ball went straight to Medvedev left and well out of bounds. In fact, it didn’t even cross the net. All that Kyrgios had to do what let the ball fall to the ground and he would have had a point.
He made another choice
well this was… odd pic.twitter.com/zl94yPmGwL
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2022
While the ball was effectively out of play, it hadn’t hit the ground out of play yet. So, officially, the point was still live. If the ball was on the other side of the net, it would have been confusing but ultimately, a non-issue, as Kyrgios’ shot was in play. But in crossing to the other side of the net, Kyrgios’ hit was not legal. So, the point went to Medvedev.
Tennis fans were left both scratching their heads at Kyrgios and also appreciative of him doing everything possible to ensure that there’s never a dull moment.
Like…why?
Kyrgios would have had break point if he had let the ball bounce.
Even by Kyrgios standards, that was baffling.pic.twitter.com/x8dvOsH08E
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 5, 2022
I will never understand Nick Kyrgios 🧐
📽️: @usopen pic.twitter.com/wZkNYr8uCp
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 5, 2022
One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen at a grand slam 👏 @NickKyrgios https://t.co/kcPryhWGOI
— Andy Lapthorne (@AndyLapthorne) September 5, 2022
An absolute all-time banger of lunacy. https://t.co/Rw1MLchXSK
— Patrick J. Sauer (@pjsauer) September 5, 2022
This is just one of the silliest things I’ve ever seen a professional tennis player do. Complete brain fade. At least Medvedev knew the rules. pic.twitter.com/1JE6Qhxpj1 https://t.co/OdEMWP2uXZ
— Mark Gottlieb (@MarkGottlieb) September 5, 2022
https://t.co/1twSOXDJa3 pic.twitter.com/NqhA1qXDY5
— Eric Núñez (@EricNunezAP) September 5, 2022
Kyrgios recently admitted to “throwing matches” when his favorite NBA team, the Boston Celtics, lose. The start of the NBA season is still more than a month away, though, so we don’t think that’s what happened here. But if he’s doing this in a regular match, then his matches after a tough Celtics loss will be must-see.
[US Open Tennis on Twitter]
