'Not Happy With That': Djokovic Reacts To Destroying Two Racquets At ATP Finals

Monday, 13 November 2023 at 14:00

Updated at Thursday, 31 July 2025 at 21:54

byZachary Wimer

Novak Djokovic was quite angry during his match against Holger Rune at the 2023 ATP Finals, but he regretted the moment after the match.

Tennis players occasionally get angry, and Djokovic is one of the players who doesn't hide his emotions on the tennis court. However, his outburst at this year's ATP Finals seemed to be quite excessive.

He destroyed two rackets by stomping on them, which is rarely seen. The Serbian usually shouts at his box or expresses his frustration in a similar audible manner, but his outburst in Turin showed that he was furious.

After the match, Djokovic addressed the situation, explaining that he wasn't happy with it. At the same time, it helped him to release the built-up frustration.

"I mean, some people are saying that if you want to use that word 'pragmatic' for me to do that because then I can release whatever tension I'm holding and frustration and move on, maybe that was the case tonight."

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"But I wouldn't encourage anybody doing that. Neither do I encourage myself. I'm not happy. I'm not happy with that. I definitely don't like that I have done that, but I have done it and that is it and I have to take responsibility."

Eventually, it probably helped Djokovic as he won the match, beating Rune 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3. Still, the crowd booed him for breaking his rackets. However, Djokovic also admitted that, in the future, he will probably try to find a different way to release his frustration than stomping on his rackets.

"Yeah, I guess in some cases it has happened in the past where I do that and come back playing more freely, I guess, just letting go. There are different ways, maybe smarter ways to let go of the frustration than breaking a racket (smiling)."