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Men’s tennis number one Novak Djokovic has been disqualified from the US Open after accidentally hitting a linesman with a ball.
The top seed had been in the running for his 18th Grand Slam win, but his title hopes were dashed after he was ejected from the fourth-round match against Pablo Carreño Busta.
Djokovic hit a ball behind him upset as he walked to the sideline after losing a game in the first set.
The woman was seen clutching her throat
The ball hit a linesman, who fell to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck.
There were several minutes of discussion with officials on the court, with Djokovic arguing his case, before it was announced that he was out of competition.
After the decision was made, the tennis star picked up his rackets and left the court.
It looked like Djokovic had no intention of hitting the linesman and was quick to see how he was doing, but players have been disqualified in the past for similar incidents.
The Serbian player was the big favorite to win the title, having not lost a match all season.
His shocking exit means there are no men left in the tournament who have previously won a Grand Slam singles title.
Novak Djokovic leaves the court after being disqualified
Second seed Dominic Thiem, who has reached Grand Slam finals three times without a win, is now the highest ranked player left.
Tim Henman, who was disqualified from Wimbledon 25 years ago for accidentally hitting a girl with a ball during a doubles match, said “there is no question that it is the right decision.”
Speaking on Amazon Prime, he said: “It’s amazing for me to talk about this because it happened to me at Wimbledon in 1995. It was that moment of frustration, I hit the ball when I wasn’t looking and I hit a ball on the ear.”
