Daniil Medvedev caught doing obscene gesture during embarrasing show at US Open

Medvedev's gesture to Bonzi was only the icing on the cake of an embarrasing show.
Text: Javier Escribano
Published 2025-08-25

Daniil Medvedev gave quite a show during his first (and final) match at the US Open 2025, when he lost in five sets to Benjamin Bonzi. When an "outside interference", a photographer walking in the court when the match was still going, caused the umpire to offer Bonzi a repeat of the first serve (he had missed the first). Medvedev opposed, and encouraged the crowd to boo, halting the match for six minutes.

Bonzi eventually won the match, but two sets later, with Medvedev almost getting his way. One day later, Medvedev fans are divided, but the general consensus is that Medvedev's actions and attitude were unsportsmanlike at the very least, with many describing his antics as immature and embarrasing.

When he lost, crying, he smashed the racket 23 times (we counted it). But it wasn't only that: spurred by the crowd, who for once stood on his side, he did quite an obscene gesture, one that could only be directed to his rival when celebrating a point.

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A gesture like that would result in immediate sendoff in any other sports, and likely a monetary or sporting sanction later. Not in tennis, apparently, who will also get away with scolding the official (he told umpire Greg Allensworth if "he was a man, why was he shaking" and, to the camera, that he "gets paid by the match so he wants to go home"), all while the crowd encouraged his attitude.

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