Tennis player avoids immediate disqualification after kicking racket into crowd

Ahead of the French Open, tennis is again reckoning with one of its strangest approaches to enforcing its rules.Thursday at the Hamburg Open, Germany’s Daniel Altmaier was frustrated after Tommy Paul of the U.S. broke his serve to lead their quarterfinal 6-2, 5-4.He did what plenty of tennis players have done, smashing his racket into the clay court. But then he kicked it once, sending it bouncing into his bench, before kicking it again — sending it flying into a crowd of spectators at pace. Careful, Daniel 😬#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/I7DsnjZMI4 — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 21, 2026A fan in the crowd passed it back, and Altmaier, the 27-year-old world No. 65, held up a hand in apology after ascertaining that no one was hurt. Paul, who had sat down for the changeover at 5-4, looked at the chair umpire, Fergus Murphy, with some expectation. A member of the American’s team stood up and gestured to indicate what had happened.Advertisement