Is smashing the shot becoming a "nirvana" for tennis superstars to vent?

Smashing is becoming an increasingly intense cathartic carrier in the world tennis world.In 2025, the Australian Open will be staged many times.In the first round, Medvedev was fined $10,000 for smashing the camera and causing damage to it.In the men's singles final, Zverev was swept by Sinner 0:3 and suffered a Grand Slam "three consecutive runners-up" and smashed his racket angrily;In the women's singles final, Sabalanca smashed her racket in anger after losing, expressing her dissatisfaction with the result.

Why do tennis players often smash their rackets during matches?

The primary reason is emotional venting.

Tennis matches are highly competitive, and athletes experience various mood swings during the match, such as stress, nervousness, anger, frustration, etc. When an athlete is unable to achieve the expected results in a game, or when a critical mistake occurs, they may vent these negative emotions by smashing the racket.

Second, when an athlete is extremely disappointed with a mistake they made in a match, they may see the racket as a symbol of the mistake and express their dissatisfaction and punishment by smashing the racket.

Of course, in the game, athletes will also be affected by external factors such as the opponent's provocation, the referee's penalty, and the behavior of the spectators, causing them to express their dissatisfaction by smashing the racket.

It's true that everyone has emotional moments, and even if the tennis superstars, even the world's number one stars, are equally uncontrollable, few escape.

Safin, who was once ranked No. 1 in the world, is famous for his violent smashing in the tennis world, and has smashed a total of 1,005 rackets in his career, worth nearly one million, which can be called the first in tennis.Federer, who is known for his elegance, smashed his racket in Miami against Djokovic in 2008 after losing 24 points in a nearly 28-point competition;As for Serbia's Novak Djokovic, he often violently smashed rackets during matches, and even smashed the net to vent his emotions, and he also suffered a lot of fines for this.

Of course, there are a lot of female players who smash and shoot,The short-tempered Serena Williams often used the way to release pressure and dissatisfaction, would be annoyed by mistakes, would also smash the racket because of an argument with the referee, and even continued to smash the racket after falling to the ground.At the end of the second round of the women's singles at the WTA1000 Indian Wells in 2025, Ostapenko lost to Wang Xinyu and threw her racket to vent.

Needless to say, while each of these superstars has shown great skills, passion and personality on the tennis court, and sometimes smashes rackets for catharsis, it is also a real part of their careers. Although this behavior is not worth advocating.

With the increase in racket smashing on the court, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and tournament parties are currently punishing according to the severity of the racket smashing behavior:

Warning: (Violation of the first light drop of the racket);

Penalty points/penalty rounds: 1 point may be awarded for the second violation, 1 penalty for the third inning, and direct disqualification (loss) for the fourth offense;

Additional penalties such as fines and forfeiture of winnings, bans, direct losses, etc.

The superstar who received the heaviest penalty for smashing rackets in tennis was Medvedev.

At the 2025 Australian Open, Medvedev was fined $10,000 for smashing a GoPro camera on the net in the first round, and was fined an additional $66,000 in the second round for breaking the racket and not attending the press conference, totaling $76,000, accounting for 60% of his prize money.

Kjeer Goss was fined $25,000 for abusive injuries to a caddie at the 2022 Indian Wells Race, and a points, penalty and additional fine for the 2023 Miami Race for abusive refereeing and racket throwing.

In the 2023 Wimbledon final, Djokovic smashed his racket against the net post after being broken in the deciding set, causing the racket to break and the net post to be damaged, and was fined $8,000 (about 56,000 yuan) by the Wimbledon Organizing Committee, setting a record for a single fine in the event.

In recent years, the ATP's penalties for non-compliance have become stricter, and sponsors and tournament parties are more concerned about their negative effects (e.g. damage to brand image). Wilson's company required players to include a "no racketing" clause in their contracts and fined violators. It can be seen how hard it was smashed and how badly it was punished.

Racquets are an important tool for athletes, and violence can not only cause property damage, but can also pose a threat to their own safety and the safety of others. Even tennis superstars have to learn to control their emotions better and deal with stress and challenges in a more positive way.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Uncle Dusk)