Losing a tennis match can be painful. Losing one after holding a 5-0 lead in the deciding set can, however, be more devastating. But for veteran tennis reporter Christopher Clarey, even that level of disappointment does not justify an athlete starting to hit themselves with their racket in the name of frustration.
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“How can we help #tennis players to stop hitting themselves in the head with their strings? Madison Keys the latest,” Clarey wrote, reacting to Madison Keys’ behavior after losing her match on Saturday. “Nothing in sports is worth that. Not even blowing a 5-0 lead in the 3rd set.”
The incident took place after Madison Keys’ shocking third-round collapse at the U.S. Open against Zheng Qinwen. After comfortably securing the first set 6-1, Keys dropped the second-set tiebreak but charged to a dominant 5-0 lead in the deciding third set. However, while serving for the match at 5-1, she held a match point but failed to convert it.
Keys’ opponent, Zheng Qinwen, then initiated an incredible seven-game comeback to win 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5. And of course, Madison Keys was frustrated, as is expected of a player who has just lost a game, especially in the fashion in which she lost it. However, the manner in which she was expressing that frustration, repeatedly banging her tennis racket into her own head, was what Clarey found to be quite concerning. She also ripped off her sun visor.
As Clarey pointed out, a player hitting themselves with a racket is not entirely a new occurrence in tennis. There have been previous instances of that, most notably with Mikhail Youzhny, who famously bashed his forehead with his racket during a 2008 Miami Open match until he drew blood. However, while players hitting themselves with their rackets is not entirely new, the more common and obviously safer venting method is smashing their rackets on the ground or court.
To an extent, however, it’s quite understandable that Madison Keys reacted that way. She literally lost seven straight games to drop the final set 7-5. If she had just managed to win one more game, she would have closed out the match and advanced to the next round.
Keys has, however, not issued any public statements or posted on social media since the match ended, as she chose not to attend an official post-match press conference or release an immediate personal statement following the devastating collapse. Well, sadly, her journey in the US Open this year ends here. So maybe it’s on to the next.