Men behaving badly has been one of the main stories in tennis so far this season.
Novak Djokovic messing up draws by not withdrawing in a timely manner despite knowing he wouldn’t be playing. Daniil Medvedev throwing temper tantrums. Alexander Zverev threatening a chair umpire. Nick Kyrgios almost hitting a ballboy with a racket.
And now Jenson Brooksby joins the club–the same one as Kyrgios, in fact.
In his first-round match against Federico Coria at the Miami Open on Thursday afternoon, Brooksby threw his racket in frustration after losing a point during the third set. It would not have been a big deal except that the racket went straight toward a ballboy at the back wall and forced him to avoid it with a move of which even Vince Vaughn in “Dodgeball” would be jealous.
Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes hit Brooksby with a point penalty for a second unsportsmanlike conduct violation, but there was no default forthcoming despite Coria’s pleas.
Brooksby ended up winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, after which calls for a default only grew louder on social media.
So, should Brooksby have been defaulted?
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