In his epic win over Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16 of the US Open this year, Nick Kyrgios found an inventive (and dumb) new way to lose a point. It is yet another example of a professional tennis player without a firm grasp of all the rules. The following clip of the incident illustrates how Kyrgios ran past the net to hit a ball that was effectively already out of play.
This one is straight out of the ITF Rules of Tennis.
The point is lost if:
The player hits the ball before it has passed the net.
ITF Rules of Tennis, 24.h.
The move cost Kyrgios a break point and seemed pivotal at the time. John McEnroe, who was calling the match, was a little confused at the umpires ruling. McEnroe incorrectly compared it to an unusual “around the net post” winner hit by Pablo Carreno Busta against Tallon Griekspoor in the second round of the Australian Open earlier this year.
The great irony of McEnroe’s initial misunderstanding of the rule is that he literally voiced an abridged recording of the ITF Rules of Tennis published as a “Sleep Story” under the Calm app. In fact, listening to that was one of the things that precipitated this blog.
We are unlikely to ever see such a shot ever again. Of course, it was unlikely that we would have been treated to seeing it in the first place. That is Kyrgios in a nutshell.
- ITF Rules of Tennis, 2022.
