Daniil Medvedev’s 2026 Rotterdam campaign ended almost as quickly as it began and in explosive fashion. He suffered a first-round defeat at the ABN AMRO Open, but it wasn’t just the loss that grabbed headlines. Instead, it was the Russian star’s furious on-court rant about the tournament balls.
Medvedev went up against Ugo Humbert in the opening round of the tournament, where the latter delivered a stunning performance, losing just the second set in the three-set clash. He defeated the Russian, registering a 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3 win, and advanced to the second round of the tournament. However, apart from the scoreboard, another incident drew everyone’s attention, where Medvedev was in the focus, as the loss didn’t sit right with him.
The former World No. 1 known for his fiery temperament and brutally honest opinions, unleashed a profanity-filled tirade during and after his match. He directed his anger squarely at the HEAD tennis balls being used at the ATP 500 event.
Taking out his frustration on the nature of the balls, he said:
“These balls are horrible. Please delete this f*cking balls from this f*cking life,” said Daniil Medvedev after the match.
Before the contest, he complained:
“We shouldn’t play with HEAD balls. We shouldn’t even buy them. They’re not even round. We should not promote them.”
Before his appearance at the ATP Rotterdam, Medvedev competed at the Australian Open, where he couldn’t progress further than the fourth round.
What Happened to Daniil Medvedev in His Previous Tournament Before Rotterdam?
“Yeah, it’s true. I mean, he played too good for me today. Could I do better? I mean, you can always do better if you lose with the scoreline. I did, but I felt like yeah, he had a match probably of his life or not. I mean, it doesn’t matter. He had a good match, and I didn’t manage to rival his level, and that’s why basically I lost, and there is nothing to change anymore right now,” said Daniil Medvedev.
