French Open: Should Lorenzo Musetti have been disqualified after kicking a ball at a line judge?
Lorenzo Musetti received a code violation rather than being disqualified for kicking a ball that struck a line judge; Follow scores and reports from Roland-Garros on Sky Sports' digital platforms; You can watch the tours on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+, NOW and app
Wednesday 4 June 2025 12:29, UK
Italian Lorenzo Musetti booted the ball in frustration that hit the line judge in the chest during his French Open quarter-final victory, so why wasn't he disqualified?
In the second set of his quarter-final against American Frances Tiafoe, Musetti kicked a loose ball and it hit the female line judge, standing three metres away, in the chest.
Tiafoe looked stunned at the other end of the court and gestured towards the chair umpire Timo Janzen, who eventually gave Musetti a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
There were echoes of Novak Djokovic being defaulted at the 2020 US Open after accidentally hitting a female line judge with a ball.
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Tiafoe, the 15th seed, said: "I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened. I think that's comical, but it is what it is.
"Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously it's not consistent, so it is what it is."
Former player-turned broadcaster Rennae Stubbs wrote on X: "Wow Musetti is very lucky to be still on court right now. You cannot kick a ball and it hit the lines person and not be defaulted."
Musetti, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, won the match 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-2 to progress to the last four at Roland Garros for the first time.
He said: "Yeah, I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn't want to harm nobody, of course.
"So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said 'sorry', I apologise to everyone.
"It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that's why probably just, you know, let me continue my game."
The French Open is the only one of the four Grand Slams to still use line judges rather than electronic line calling.
Henman: Musetti would feel aggrieved if he had been disqualification
Former British No 1 Tim Henman was defaulted in a Wimbledon doubles match in 1995 when a ball he hit across the net after a point had finished struck a ball kid.
Henman, part of TNT Sports coverage of Roland-Garros, said: "By the letter of the law, if you hit or kick a ball away in frustration and it hits a ball boy, line judge, or umpire, that can be a disqualification.
"When you look at that, the umpire could have interpreted that as a disqualification. However, if Musetti was disqualified for that, Musetti would feel very unlucky and aggrieved.
"When you're kicking a ball away, you've either got to be a better footballer and kick it in the right direction, or you are risking something like that."
Other famous incidents include David Nalbandian's disqualification from the Queen's Club final in 2012 after injuring a line judge by kicking an advertising board into his shin, while Canadian Denis Shapovalov smashed the ball in anger, which accidentally struck umpire Arnaud Gabas, who suffered a fractured eye socket, during a Davis Cup tie against Great Britain in 2017.
Mats Wilander, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, said the power of the strike shouldn't matter, but Jim Courier feels it does, saying: "I think actually, softness does matter. I think that's the key element. Intent does not matter, right? If you didn't mean to do it, that is irrelevant.
"What is relevant is, did you harm either a ball person or a linesperson or a spectator? If anyone is injured, that's when they're going to default you, and fortunately he didn't really even centre the kick.
"It was one of the worst kicks I've ever seen an Italian make actually, thankfully, but you know it hit her, she kind of flinched a little bit, but then she was fine."
Courier: Authorities chose the right path
Djokovic was famously default from his US Open fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta in 2020.
The Serbian took a ball out of his pocket and hit it behind him, striking the female line judge in her throat.
After a lengthy discussion, he was defaulted by tournament officials. On this occasion, two-time former French Open champion Courier feels tournament officials made the right call on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
"When he hit that ball again, unintentionally, and it hit the lineswoman in the neck, she crumbled to the ground and she needed medical treatment," said the American.
"And with that, I think that the authorities' hands were forced, and that was not the case today.
"That would have been a very difficult scenario for the tournament to have to explain.
"Was it within the rules? Technically, I think if you hit someone, yeah, you could default them, but I think there needs to be some judgement, and I think they chose the right path."
Now 19-3 on clay in 2025, Musetti will take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz for a spot in the final.
Since the Italian beat Alcaraz in the Hamburg final three years ago, the Spaniard has won five matches in a row to lead their head-to-head record 5-1.
- Rome (2025) - Semi-final: Alcaraz 6-3 7-6 (7-4)
- Monte-Carlo (2025) - Final: Alcaraz 3-6 6-1 6-0
- Miami (2024) - Round of 16: Alcaraz 6-3 6-3
- China Open (2023) - Second Round: Alcaraz 6-2 6-2
- French Open (2023) - Fourth round: Alcaraz 6-3 6-2 6-2
- Hamburg European Open (2022) - Final: Musetti 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-4
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