Stubbs criticizes Medvedev's Laver Cup antics: here's what happened

Rennae Stubbs, the ex-coach of former world number one Serena Williams, has lambasted Russia’s tennis star Daniil Medvedev for his behaviour during the Laver Cup. The two-team competition ended on Sunday in Berlin, Germany, where Team Europe came out on top against Team World in a feisty contest with a score of 13-11.

On the last day of the contest, Team Europe, which had to win three out of four matches, ended up suffering an early defeat. The player who lost from Team Europe was Medvedev, who was second-best against America’s Ben Shelton with a score of 6-7, 7-5, 10-5. The Russian tennis star earlier lost to America’s Frances Tiafoe with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.

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During the contest against Shelton, Medvedev, while talking to his teammates, admitted that he was playing the worst tennis of his career. His frustration boiled even further as he ended up throwing his racket, which luckily did not hit anyone. Team World protested over the incident, wanting the world number five to be disqualified. However, the match officials did not do that, as the racket did not hit anyone sitting in the arena. Former world number one Serena’s coach Stubbs was recently quoted in a report lambasting Medvedev's behaviour. She believes that there should be a blanket rule disqualifying players who commit any such offence.

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"What the living F was he (Daniil Medvedev) doing throwing that racket that,” she said. “Well, it didn't go into the crowd because there was this gap between the court and the actual audience, so for him to throw it at the crowd he would have to really throw it higher or bounce it a lot harder. But it went near a couple of the crew and a couple of people sitting around the court. I think the WTA and ATP Tour need to make a blanket rule; if you throw your racket and it leaves the court, no matter what, you are defaulted.”