Djokovic hit with record fine after Wimbledon loss
Novak Djokovic has been fined a whopping £6,100 ($11,700) for smashing his racquet in frustration against the net post during the men's singles final at Wimbledon.
The Serbian player, who suffered a five-set defeat against Carlos Alcaraz, marking his first loss on Centre Court in a decade, was penalised for "racquet abuse" when he was crucially broken in the deciding set.
Acknowledging the fine, the world No. 2, who earned $2.3 million as the runner-up, stated, “It was frustration in the moment. He played amazing to break my serve, which was enough to win the fifth set.”
The final match garnered a peak audience of 11.3 million viewers on the BBC, representing the highest viewership since Andy Murray's victory in 2016, which attracted 13.3 million viewers.
The incident where Djokovic smashed his racquet was not the only time he tested the umpire's patience during the tense final.
A fortunate spectator managed to acquire the now iconic broken racquet after the match.
Furthermore, Djokovic received a time violation for exceeding the allotted time during his serve in the second set. As a result, the umpire issued a warning for his behaviour.
Although never a crowd favourite at SW19, Djokovic faced boos from the Wimbledon audience due to his outburst that resulted in the destruction of his racquet.
The £6,100 fine imposed on Djokovic stands as the highest individual fine given during this year's tournament, setting a record in 2023.
Similarly, Mirra Andreeva also incurred two fines totalling £6,100 during the tournament.
The 16-year-old Russian player struggled to control her temper throughout the event and was observed angrily striking herself during the early rounds.
She was eliminated in the round of 16 after unintentionally handing a match point to Maddison Keys.
Keys was awarded the point when Andreeva was deemed to have thrown her racquet to the ground after slipping, as confirmed by the umpire.
This incident marked the second time Andreeva had been involved in a racquet-related episode, as she had received a warning earlier in the match for tossing her racquet across the grass.
After her defeat to Keys, Andreeva declined to shake hands with the umpire.
For her conduct in the round of 16, she received two fines of A$5,860 each.
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