By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 31, 2025
Photo credit: Elsa/Getty
Toni Nadal has seen enough of Daniil Medvedev’s destruction—and says the time has come for tennis to take action.
Writing for Spanish publication, El Pais, Toni Nadal criticized Medvedev’s meltdown during his US Open first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi.
Condemning the former No. 1 for his “reprehensible attitude” in smashing his Tecnifibre racquets after his loss to Bonzi, Toni Nadal called on tennis to dispense more punishment than the $42,500 in fines Medvedev incurred for his behavior.
Toni Nadal, uncle and original coach of Rafael Nadal, said one reason we don’t see this type of behavior in other sports is simple: Because they won’t tolerate it.
“I believe that the time has come when tennis leaders should consider the possibility of applying sporting punishments to the increasingly common occurrence of tennis players breaking their racquets on the court,” Toni Nadal wrote in his El Pais column. “As well as for us to consider why this type of reprehensible attitudes occur more frequently in our sport than in other disciplines.
“I have never seen a ping-pong player break a paddle and, very rarely, a golfer punish his club after making a mistake.”
The 2021 US Open champion Medvedev received a $30,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct and a $12,500 fine for racquet abuse, according to the Grand Slam rulebook.
He received a total of $110,000 in prize money, so he still turned a profit at this year’s US Open, though smaller than he would have liked.
Still, Toni Nadal said a player of Medvedev’s experience and skill should never implode in such dramatic fashion. Uncle Toni asserts the fines imposed “do not manage to eradicate his behavior” suggesting a suspension is warranted in extreme cases.
“In another unfortunate spectacle, [Medvedev] attacked his racquet to leave it in pieces,” Toni Nadal wrote for El Pais. “I am surprised that a player of Medvedev’s stature is incapable of calming his nerves and that he is willing to give this image of himself, as well as that high financial sanctions such as the one subsequently imposed on him do not manage to eradicate his behavior.”
Medvedev needs to sit on the sidelines for some period of time. His actions in that match, and after, were, of course, unacceptable.
As to the breaking of tennis rackets by players in anger, a $5000 fine per broken racket may show the players how stupid and stupid looking are these displays of over-the-top childish behavior and utterly unacceptable. It hurts the entire game of tennis. Who the heck wants to see this crap?
While we are at it, how about the level of noise players make. And don’t try to tell me there is no attempt to mess with the opponents mind in this higher level of noise which can conveniently appear at crunch time. Sabalenka and Svitolina come quickly to mind. Ridiculous that the tennis administrators and chair umpires can’t merely say “too much noise, you must be quieter.” This is not to single out women players, but any man who is offending in this regard should be cited, too. The issue should be addressed in some manner and soon.
What do you think of my ideas, Uncle Toni? I have said to my wife when watching the breaking racket display happen that Raphael Nadal never broke a racket, in this display, I bet. Your nephew has too much respect, honor and professionalism to behave in such a shabby way. By the way, we miss Rafa Nadal a lot.