How the tennis tantrum became the sport’s irremovable feature

Australian Open with 4K on Stan Sport.

Every match, live & on demand.

Stream now

Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys left with the trophies, but the two most memorable moments from the 2025 Australian Open were Daniil Medvedev’s meltdown and Danielle Collins’ ‘kiss my arse’.

Sure, the Australian crowd booed Collins when she told fans to “shut up” and that she was at the Open to “take that big fat pay cheque and go on a holiday”, but who didn’t love the theatre of it all?

And, OK, we were outraged when Medvedev took his racquet to the net camera like a sledgehammer, but wasn’t it equally as thrilling as it was shocking?

Sadly, Collins won’t be in Melbourne this year, which means we won’t get round two of Collins v the crowd, while Medvedev has promised to be on his best behaviour … boring.

The truth is, we love a brat, we love a villain, and most of all we love a tantrum. They get us talking, and they keep us watching.

But there is a fine line between endorsing bad behaviour and acknowledging it’s good for the sport.

Medvedev picked up a combined $120,000 in fines at the 2025 Australian Open. An eye-watering amount for your average Joe, but spare change for a player who has earned more than $48 million in his career.

The fine was for two separate incidents. The heftier of the two was $107,000 for “inappropriate behaviour” during his second-round defeat to qualifier Learner Tien, which included throwing his racquet, voicing displeasure about foot faults and skipping his post-match press conference. The “abuse of racquets or equipment” for the broken camera was a cheap $13,000.

Safe to say Tennis Australia came down relatively hard on Medvedev, which is why it’s even more curious the governing body decided to use his antics in its promotion material for the 2026 tournament at the official Australian Open launch in October.

The standard we walk past is the standard we accept, right? So the question is, does highlighting bad behaviour mean you agree with it? And were the fines enough to emphasise the seriousness of the offence?

In Medvedev’s case, it seems enough time has passed that we can laugh off the crazed incident.

After all, bad behaviour in promotional material is bait for tennis diehards and seasonal fans alike. It’s saying, look at the drama! This is what you could see if you keep watching. Showing it doesn’t mean they endorse it.

And, the outbursts, along with the champions, are always the most memorable moments of the Open.

The one that lives rent-free in my mind is the “small cat” incident of 2022.

Let me preface this by saying, a line needs to be drawn any time a player attacks a chair umpire during a match. Umpires are doing their best, and it isn’t an easy job, especially when both the crowd and players can be against them at times.

But I think the way that chair umpire Jaume Campistol shrugged off this next incident means we can talk about it.

During the 2022 Australian Open semi-final between Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Medvedev blasted Campistol for allowing Tsitsipas to allegedly get sideline coaching from his father Apostolos. At the time, sideline coaching wasn’t allowed like it is now, and after a tirade that included asking the umpire if he’s mad and stupid, Medvedev said: “You are, how can I call it, a small cat”.

Do I need to spell it out? He was calling him a pussy.

The Australian Open has some of the most quirky and infamous tantrums of our time.

There’s the four-racquet smash from Marcos Baghdatis in 2012, the CoCo Vandeweghe banana code violation of 2018 and at the extreme end of the scale, John McEnroe’s 1990 disqualification for repeat code violations including intimidating a lineswoman, smashing his racquet and swearing at the umpire and tournament referee.

The irony and intrigue is that McEnroe is now a constant on Australian Open coverage, and the seriousness of the incident is in stark contrast to the upbeat music that’s in the background of the video on the Australian Open’s YouTube channel. Time heals many wounds.

Then there are the incidents for which we can be a little more forgiving, such as Aryna Sabalenka smashing her racquet after losing the 2025 Australian Open final. It was a rush of blood to the head, the outpouring of emotion, and a cathartic release for the former champion before she had to get up and deliver her runners-up speech following a crushing defeat.

So as we near another Australian Open, prepare for the drama. Right now, the villain card is still available, but you can guarantee someone will grab it with both hands.

After all, it’s tennis, it always delivers.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.

Click here to read article