Michelsen sparks controversy, narrowly avoids default; players react

World No 52 Alex Michelsen was defeated (6-0, 6-3) by Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the final of the Winston-Salem Open.

However, the biggest online discussion surrounding the match was over a narrowly missed default.

The American had a terrible start to the match and, after missing a routine half volley to get broken for a second time, smacked a ball into the crowd in frustration, hitting a member of the audience as a result. Despite the incident, Michelsen was not defaulted from the match, and the umpire reassured the players that the crowd member was feeling fine after the contact with the ball.

The decision to not default the American sparked controversy online, with current and former players taking to social media to air their opinion on the matter. Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who also voiced his views around the Jannik Sinner failed doping tests story earlier in the week, stated on X:

“I love how they say rules are rules until they suddenly aren’t.”

Six-time major champion and former doubles player Bruno Soares also took to X to have his opinion on the matter known:

“That ball hit from Michelsen is instant default. Nothing to ask or see there. Strange not to. Double standards here.”

That ball hit from Michelsen is instant default. Nothing to ask or see there.

Soares on the incident

The controversy surrounded the inconsistency of defaults, especially given Shapovalov’s recent default in Washington for swearing at a person in the crowd in his match v Ben Shelton. Many minds were cast back to Novak Djokovic at the 2020 US Open, where he was defaulted in round four v Pablo Carreno Busta for accidentally hitting a lineswoman in the throat with the ball after having his serve broken.

The official ATP rulebook (which is separate from the ITF’s grand slam rule book) states that:

“Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up). For purposes of this rule, abuse of balls is defined as intentionally or recklessly hitting a ball out of the enclosure of the court, hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with disregard of the consequences.”

What is clear is that there is a lack of consistency in the punishment handed out by umpires who witness situations like the one Michelsen created on Saturday, and this is partly due to the fact that there is no fixed punishment clearly written in the rulebook. This leaves these situations up to subjective interpretation by umpires, which is a recipe for controversy.

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