Sebastian Korda earned sweet revenge with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Michael Zheng at the Nexo Dallas Open, snapping a three-match skid after his Australian Open heartbreak. But the victory celebration nearly took a dramatic turn, as the Americans’ attempt to share the moment with fans briefly risked an unexpected disqualification. 

Right after the win, Korda tried to celebrate in a familiar way. He hit a spare ball toward the crowd before walking over to shake hands with fellow American Michael Zheng.

However, the moment almost went wrong. The ball nearly hit a fan badly. Korda immediately looked apologetic and concerned.

After the handshake, he walked toward the stands. He made an apologetic gesture to the fan to make sure everything was fine.

On the court, though, Korda delivered an impressive performance. In the rematch of AO, he was nearly flawless on serve and stayed in control throughout the match.

He won 29 of 30 points on his first serve. He also saved the only break point he faced. Safe to say that Korda dominated the winners count with a 24-8 advantage. Both players had similar unforced errors, with 20 for the American and 19 for Zheng.

And such accidental incidents are not new on the tennis circuit. A similar moment took place at the 2026 Australian Open involving Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

After defeating Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round, Ruse tossed a ball into the crowd. The throw did not go as planned and accidentally struck a woman who was not paying attention.

The situation quickly turned light-hearted. The fan looked surprised at first, but soon laughed it off, and Ruse immediately apologized for the mishap.

A well-known incident also occurred in 2022 involving Nick Kyrgios. During a doubles match, he hit a ball that bounced into the crowd and struck a young boy. Shocked, Kyrgios ran to his bag, took out a new racket, and gave it to the fan. 

However, not every ball-hitting incident ends positively, and such moments can sometimes create serious tension on the court.

Terence Atmane fined $25K after ball hits fan accidentally

At the 2024 Roland Garros, French player Terence Atmane received a heavy fine after an on-court incident. He was fined $25,000 for accidentally hitting a spectator with a ball during his first-round match.

The fine was nearly one-third of the prize money he won that year. Players who lose in the opening round at Roland Garros earn about $80,000.

The incident happened during his match against Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. After losing a point in the fourth set, Atmane angrily hit a ball.

The ball flew over the wall and into the stands behind the opposite baseline. The match was being played on the 492-capacity Court 12.

Play was stopped for nearly 15 minutes at 4-1 in the fourth set. The chair umpire and tournament officials checked on the spectator and discussed possible action against Atmane.

In the end, he received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, the $25,000 penalty became the largest fine among the 10 issued to players during the tournament.

Atmane later apologized on Instagram. He wrote, “This gesture was not intentional. Please forgive me for my emotional outburst.”

He also explained the situation. According to him, a broken string on his racket affected the ball’s direction, and he was too shocked at the moment to react immediately.

Similar incidents have happened before at Roland Garros. In 2023, Miyu Kato and her doubles partner were forced to forfeit after she accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck at Court 14. 

At the same event, Mirra Andreeva hit a ball into the Court Suzanne Lenglen stands during a match against Coco Gauff and received only a warning.

These moments show that accidental ball incidents can have serious consequences. Players may face heavy fines or even disqualification if someone is hurt. 

With Sebastian Korda avoiding such penalties today, he will likely be more careful during future celebrations.