Yoshihito Nishioka completely freaked out.

Lost composure: tantrum in Cincinnati

The ATP tournament in Cincinnati had already had a few surprises to offer, but this scene surprised even die-hard tennis fans, because the otherwise rather calm Yoshihito Nishioka suddenly lost his temper.

August 18, 2024

From: sn

Nishioka started strongly and took the first set 6:3 in the round of 28 against Hubert Hurkacz from Poland. But when Hurkacz won the second set in a tiebreak, the 1-year-old's frustration seemed to boil over. After he had already destroyed his racket, the situation escalated completely in the third set: After losing a break point at 3:XNUMX, Nishioka took out his anger on the tennis balls, firing them into the stands three times. Such behavior is an absolute taboo in tennis, and a point penalty and ultimately even the loss of an entire game followed.

But anyone who was already longing for peace and quiet had to wait, because Nishioka was only just getting going: The Japanese, otherwise known as a fair sportsman, refused to continue playing and simply let his opponent's serves fly past him without even attempting to return the ball. The spectators reacted with loud boos and even the commentators showed little understanding for the 28-year-old's behavior. "This has absolutely nothing to do with professionalism," commented Sky expert Markus Götz dryly.

After the match, which Nishioka ultimately lost 6:3, 6:7, 1:6, the player made no attempt to explain himself. His behavior was sharply criticized on social media, and many wondered what drove the otherwise level-headed player to this outburst.

“I apologize to my fans”

He later explained the background to Tennis.com: "In the third set, when he broke me, I had the feeling that everything was going in his favor and nothing was working on my side. I didn't play that badly, but the game went his way. That's when the frustration came out." He also apologized to his fans and admitted his mistakes: "Against Hubi, I played well in our first game, but I slipped in the last set. I apologize to my fans. I played my best tennis until the end of the second set."

At the upcoming US Open, Nishioka wants to show more sportsmanship and prevail over his opponents. Whether he will succeed remains to be seen.