Daniil Medvedev Becomes Butt of Jokes in Tennis World After ‘French’ Goof Up in Argument Against Umpire

Daniil Medvedev had one of those “oops” moments during his recent match at the Cincinnati Open. He talked to himself in French, frustrated about receiving a time violation.

As Medvedev vented it all out, believing he was just muttering to himself, the chair umpire Tourte overheard everything and penalised him with a code violation. A confused Medvedev protested by asking: 

“Why are you giving me a code violation? I’m talking to myself. What’s the problem?”

In a post made by The Tennis Letter on X, you can see what went down.

He tried to argue about that in his previous match, when he had been talking to himself, but no action was taken on that instance. The hilarious part? Medvedev totally forgot that Tourte speaks French, making the whole situation a bit awkward. 

Tourte coolly explained that she understood what he said this time and had no choice but to issue the violation. It didn’t take long for fans to jump on social media, finding it hilarious that Medvedev totally spaced on the fact that the umpire knew exactly what he was saying.

These warnings and fines have increased in the last couple of matches. Fans and players alike feel that there could be a way to work around these decisions. Because in the end, players are the ones to bear the consequences and some even end up paying hefty fines. 

Before Medvedev, Fritz suffered from poor umpiring in Cincinnati

Medvedev’s on-court controversy isn’t an isolated incident this week. Fellow tennis star Taylor Fritz also found himself in hot waters, clashing with an umpire Greg Allensworth. A ball that clearly landed out was not called out, even though there is electronic line calling at the Cincinnati Open 2024.

This led to some back-and-forth between Fritz and the umpire. Fritz ultimately did not get the call in his favor and was asked to replay the point. All this is adding more drama to what’s already been a chaotic Cincinnati Open tournament.

Meanwhile, many fans and players have pointed out the inconsistency in the officiating. Just look at Jordan Thompson’s situation—he was heckled by the crowd not once, but twice, and nothing was done about it. But Medvedev and Fritz? They both got punished for far less. The inconsistencies in umpiring have left everyone shaking their heads.

It seems like both Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz, already facing surprising losses, now have to deal with a bit of off-court controversy too. But, hey, that’s tennis sometimes—full of surprises both on and off the court.