The 10 Biggest Tennis Controversies You Need to Know, Some Are Shocking

Unlike many other sports, tennis is almost never associated with controversies. The sport is known for its rich traditions and gentlemanly practices, but there have also been many controversial moments.

Speaking of tennis controversies, Nostrabet.com revealed some of the most interesting ones from the past couple of years. One of them is related to Nick Kyrgios, who is among the most famous Australian tennis stars, but it is just one of the many tennis controversies. There are several other things we want to share with you, so let’s dive in.

#1 Kyrgios’s Comment Regarding Wawrinka’s Girlfriend

Kyrgios is known for a lot of things, one of which is a very mean comment during the Rogers Cup 2015.

• After playing against Stan Wawrinka, Kyrgios said bad words about his girlfriend.
• This was not left unnoticed because Kyrgios received a hefty fine, and the tournament decided to remove him from the list of competitors.

Some people thought the decision was too harsh, but the people who organized the event wanted to send a message.

#2 Throwing a Chair and a Tantrum

Nick Kyrgios is hands down the most controversial tennis player of this generation, so don’t be surprised that he is involved in a couple of accidents. In addition to what we have mentioned so far, he also threw a chair and said nasty words to a judge.

• The two events mentioned above took place during the Italian Open in 2019. In addition to swearing at the judge, Kyrgios threw a chair on the court and kicked a bottle.
• His behaviour was unacceptable, so he was eventually disqualified from the match.

#3 Racquet Smashing at the Australian Open

Although this is not something you see every day, some tennis players often smash their racquets when they get too emotional. There have been a lot of racquet smashings over the years, but one is more interesting than the others.

• In 2012, Marcos Baghdatis became among the first players to smash 4 racquets. Interestingly, he played against Stan Wawrinka, and the two met at the Australian Open.
• Although Baghdatis won the set where this happened, in the end, he lost the match. After the game was over, Marcos received a fine from the tournament’s officials.

#4 The US Open Women’s Final in 2018

In addition to the numerous interesting situations in men’s tennis, there are also a lot of memorable moments in women’s games. One of them is from 2018, and it happened during the US Open Women’s Final.

• The final put together Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, two of the biggest names in tennis at the time (and even today). Osaka won the match following an impressive performance, but most people will remember the clash between Williams and the game’s chair umpire.
• Carlos Ramos and Serena Williams had an ongoing quarrel during the match. A lot of people were not happy about his actions against Williams, whereas others did not approve of Williams’ behaviour, which caused him to take action. 
• The biggest downside of this match was that the controversy stole the spotlight from Osaka’s brilliant performance. This was one of her first big victories on the international tennis scene.

#5 Boycotting Indian Wells

Aside from the saga between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka, the legendary US tennis player was involved in another controversy. This one is even more interesting because it also includes her sister, Venus.

• Serena and Venus Williams are two of the most famous people in women’s tennis. Although they dominated in almost all events they were a part of, the two boycotted Indian Wells for close to 15 years.
• The big reason why this happened is because of the accusations from Elena Dementieva. She accused the father of the Williams sisters for fixing matches between them.
• Although she eventually apologized for what she said, there was a time when Serena played in the final against Kim Clijsters, and the crowd used racist comments against her and her dad. Following this incident, the family decided to boycott this tournament.

Interestingly, Serena was the one who ended the boycott because she took part in the tournament in 2015.

#6 Tennis Match-fixing

Although tennis is not the first sport that comes to mind when it comes down to match-fixing, the latter is present. Unfortunately, the participation of two players from Egypt in match-fixing resulted in lifetime bans.

• Youssef Hossam and Karim Hossam received a ban from tennis after both of them took part in numerous match-fixing scandals. According to the investigations about Youssef Hossam, he was responsible for 21 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption program.
• The violations took place between 2015 and 2019 and include 8 match-fixing cases, facilitating gambling, and a load of other offences.
• After revealing all the controversies, the tennis player received a lifetime ban to participate in any tennis tournaments. The same is true for his brother, Karim, who also got a $15K fine.

#7 The Ban on Belarusian and Russian Players

Another big tennis controversy took place in 2022, and it was caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A lot of things happened that year, and one of them was the ban on tennis players from Russia and Belarus from a few big tournaments.

• Perhaps the most controversial ban on players from these two countries was the one from Wimbledon. The UK tennis governing body decided to ban these players from playing. In fact, they even included all other tennis tournaments that were due to take place in the UK.
• It’s no surprise that this decision caused a lot of controversy. Some people supported it, whereas others said that it was not fair to the players themselves. Players from these two countries had to deal with similar restrictions before that, but at least they had the chance to play under a neutral flag.
• What’s also interesting during the 2022 Wimbledon was that the event did not give any points.
• Elena Rybakina, a tennis player born in Russia, won the tournament, but since she did not get any points, she was unable to join the top 10 best players.

#8 Djokovic’s Vaccination and Visa

Everyone knows that Novak Djokovic is probably one of the best tennis players of all time. He hasn’t been a part of any big tennis controversies before, but things changed in 2022.

• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of countries have different kinds of restrictions that people have to adhere to. Australia was no exception because the country demanded that all tennis players wishing to compete in the Australian Open have a COVID-19 vaccine. 
• For many reasons, Djokovic decided not to get a COVID-19 vaccine. So, once he arrived in Australia to take part in the event, the police detained him.
• After the scandal, the Australian authorities decided to cancel the player’s visa and send him back. As a result, Djokovic was unable to take part in the tournament.

Even though this decision was disappointing, Djokovic did not give up and won pretty much all big tennis tournaments afterwards. What’s more, he came back for the 2023 Australian Open and also won the event.

#9 Maria Sharapova and her Doping Test

Doping is present in every sport, and tennis seems to be no exception. There have been many big tennis controversies related to doping over the years, but the one with Maria Sharapova is among the most popular ones.

• The situation with one of the world’s best tennis players at the time took place in 2016. After testing positive for a substance that the tennis authorities did not allow, Sharapova received a 2-year ban.
• According to her, she took a specific substance because of her magnesium deficiency. She tried to appeal the decision, but in the end, Sharapova had to wait for her 2-year ban to expire before being able to compete again. 
• Aside from the ban, Sharapova also had issues with some of her sponsors, such as Nike and Porsche. The two companies suspended their deals at first, but Nike decided to lift them after ITF’s discovery that the substance was not performance-enhancing.

#10 The Stabbing of Monica Seles

Perhaps one of the most horrific tennis accidents ever has to be the stabbing of Monica Seles. Arguably one of the most talented female tennis players ever, Seles was assaulted, and the accident shocked the world.

• The year is 1993, and there is a tennis event in Hamburg where Monica Seles is among the favourites. During one of the breaks in a match, a random man appeared on the court, went to Seles, and stabbed her with a knife.
• Seles went to the hospital after the accident, and the good news was that there were no life-threatening injuries. Sadly, she was away from the court for more than 2 years, which had a huge impact on her career.

Considering her performance before this tournament, many people believe she would have been among the greatest tennis players ever. After all, there are not that many people who have 8 Grand Slam trophies when they were teenagers.