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WATCH: The Most Feisty Racquet Smashes of Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Others at US Open

Published 08/30/2021, 11:00 AM EDT

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Over the years, tennis players have taken to smashing their racquets as a form of expressing frustration. With a list of players that includes Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, various tournaments have seen this moment of rage unfold. And the US Open is no exception, with the hard court Grand Slam seeing some of the most violent racquet smashes.

Here are some of the most memorable racquet smashes in US Open history.

Serena Williams features among violent racquet smashes at the US Open

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The American faced Naomi Osaka in the 2018 US Open final. During the match, Williams lost her cool after hitting a two-handed backhand into the net. While expressing her disappointment, she destroyed her racquet by throwing it with a lot of force on the hard court surface.

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However, she isn’t the only former World No. 1 to break a racquet. At the 2015 US Open, Simona Halep faced Taylor Townsend in the second round. After hitting a forehand shot into the net, the Romanian took to smashing her racquet several times on the ground. While it did not break completely, the rage-filled action drew quite the reception from the crowd.

The 2015 US Open also saw CoCo Vandeweghe lose her cool in her match against fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. After losing five straight games in the first set, Vandeweghe smashed her racquet after sending a sliced backhand wide. In fact, she smashed it on the chairs next to the chair umpires before disposing it behind her.

Novak Djokovic smashes a racquet with his foot in the 2015 US Open

Players on the ATP Tour take no exception to smashing racquets in Flushing Meadows as well. In the 2015 US Open, Djokovic faced Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round. After an unforced error saw him lose the second set, the Serbian broke a spare racquet near his kit using his feet.

While this incident came relatively late in this match, Djokovic took just 31 minutes to break a racquet during the 2010 US Open final against Rafael Nadal. After losing a lengthy eight-minute game to go 3-2 behind in the first set, the Serbian smashed his racquet in a furious manner.

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Canada’s rising tennis star Denis Shapovalov also refused to hold back his frustration at Flushing Meadows. During last year’s US Open, the 22-year-old smashed his racquet into the ground twice to destroy it.

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With the US Open today, expect the intensity of tennis to move up a notch. Could fans bear witness to more racquet smashes in Flushing Meadows?

WATCH: When Serena Williams Abused a Lineswoman at US Open 2009 Semifinals

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Written by:

Sanket Nair

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Sanket Nair is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. A Sports Management graduate, he is a huge fan of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo and hopes to see Red Bull break Mercedes' dominance and win the World Championship soon. Sanket has been hooked to the sport ever since he watched the battle for the 2010 World Championship go down to the wire at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
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