A tense moment at the Australian Open saw Novak Djokovic come dangerously close to smacking a ball girl with a misfired tennis ball.
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During his third-round match against Botic van de Zandschulp on Jan. 24, the 38-year-old tennis legend let his frustration get the best of him. After a fall, he smacked a ball that whizzed past a ball girl standing near the net, missing her by mere inches.
In videos shared on social media, the tennis ball can be seen flying just inches away from the ball girl as she crouches to avoid it.
Novak Djokovic nearly hit a ballkid while smashing the ball away against Botic Van de Zandschulp.
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) January 24, 2026
Had it hit the ballkid he would be looking at a possible disqualification..
Umpire didn’t give out a warning.pic.twitter.com/0l9SjKAECX
“I apologize for that,” the Serbian tennis star said during a post-match press conference, per the BBC. “That was not necessary, and in the heat of the moment. I was lucky there, and I’m sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody.”
Djokovic faced no official consequences for the narrow miss.
Novak Djokovic was Disqualified in 2020 for Hitting a Line Judge with a Tennis Ball
This isn’t the first time Djokovic has let his temper affect his handling of the ball.
In 2020, he was disqualified from the US Open. He accidentally hit a line judge in the throat during a match against Pablo Carreño Busta.
“In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open,” the United States Tennis Association explained in a statement then.
The athlete confessed that if he could give his younger self one piece of advice, it would be to “calm down, you jerk.”
“I’m too stressed on the court very often,” he admitted, via The Guardian. “Too much tension at times. I would say patience is a big one. When we are younger, regardless of the area of life we are involved in, we want everything here and now, today.”
“Just having a bit of patience and trust in the process and surrounding yourself with the right people. That’s one of the biggest keys early on in the career of the young player,” he continued. “You have to build your character so you understand what kind of people you want around. People who can connect with you on a private level.”
Despite the outburst, Djokovic defeated his opponent to advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open as he pursues a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.