After tennis racket smashes at Indian Wells, one was flung out of a stadium in Arizona

Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court.

This week, the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells took center stage. Aryna Sabalenka started her self-assigned mission to win more big finals in 2026 by beating Elena Rybakina to win the women’s singles title, while Jannik Sinner put the brakes on Daniil Medvedev’s tennis renaissance to win the men’s singles title.

But there was plenty else going on in the tennis world too.

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Why the racket smash can quickly become a dangerous pursuit?

Last Monday at the BNP Paribas Open, Alexander Bublik, Taylor Fritz and Mirra Andreeva demonstrated the infinite potential of the tennis racket smash.

Another player took it to another, more dangerous level a few days later, when Corentin Moutet, the combustible Frenchman, did not smash his racket but launch it.

Moutet was playing in the semifinals of the Arizona Tennis Classic Challenger event against America’s Marcos Giron when he became so frustrated that he chucked his racket into the sky after losing the match. Moutet had already expressed his frustration at spectators, and was furious with the umpire on the penultimate point for not calling what he felt was a let. After netting a backhand return down match point, Moutet then turned away from his opponent and hurled his racket into the air.

The ATP is yet to announce what punishment Moutet will face for his actions, but according to the 2026 ATP rulebook: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a racket or other equipment within the precincts of the tournament site.

“For purposes of this rule, abuse of racket or equipment is defined as intentionally, dangerously and violently destroying or damaging rackets or equipment or intentionally and violently hitting the net, court, umpire’s chair or other fixture during a match out of anger or frustration.

“Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to $500 for each violation.”

Had Moutet done it earlier, he could have been defaulted. Racket smashes rarely result in such a severe punishment, because players are usually holding on to them when dashing them against the court, but some choose different approaches.

Moutet hurled his out of the stadium, but Jakub Menšík, Nick Kyrgios and Andreeva have accidentally bounced their rackets into the stands before. That is riskier, because the players are not in control of where the racket ends up.

Moutet, the world No. 33, will return to action at the Miami Open this week. That event last year ended in another meltdown, when he lost the second set against Alejandro Tabilo because of a game penalty. Moutet had refused to play until the umpire removed a fan that Mouted claimed had made an insulting gesture toward him. He then lost the match in three sets, just as he lost his racket to the night sky in Arizona.

— Charlie Eccleshare

The complex challenge of following a breakout?

This time 12 months ago, women’s tennis arrived at the Miami Open with little idea that the tournament would propel a promising talent on a steep rise up the rankings.

Alexandra Eala had a mixed record in WTA 125 events (the rung below the main tour) and World Tennis Tour events (another rung down) when she received a wild card into the WTA 1000 event and went all the way to the semifinals, beating three Grand Slam champions in the process and earning enough rankings points to rise from world No. 140 to world No. 72.

Since then, Eala has embraced the freedom that comes with such a propulsive run: the ability to enter higher-level tournaments like Grand Slams and some WTA 1000s (one level below) without having to either qualify or weigh performance against rankings points accrued in the previous year.

Each season, tennis players compete against myriad rivals — but they also compete against last year’s version of themselves. Eala has spent a season without having to do that, but now she faces the pressure as she returns to Florida, defending her points as a seed. The 20-year-old has also had to manage the joy and responsibility of being a new sporting avatar for the Philippines, with fans coming out in droves to just about every tournament she plays.

Eala is the first of several players in similar circumstances — Victoria Mboko and Valentin Vacherot’s 2025 Canadian Open and Shanghai Masters wins had similar impacts — to go from hunter to hunted, and in a sport of complex pressure dynamics, another will arrive as Eala begins her campaign against either Laura Siegemund or Petra Marčinko in the second round.

Should she win, she could meet Iga Świątek in the third round, who she beat on her memorable run 12 months ago.

— James Hansen

What does Novak Djokovic’s latest withdrawal mean?

For Novak Djokovic, the delicate dance of his late career continues.

Djokovic, who turns 39 in May, has made no secret of his sole aim for the next couple of years: beating Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the Grand Slams.

But what happens during the rest of the year? Over the weekend, Djokovic withdrew from the Miami Open, citing a shoulder injury that he picked up at Indian Wells, where he lost to Jack Draper in the round of 16. He last year reached the final in Florida, losing to Menšík, so his withdrawal will see him drop 650 rankings points, but Djokovic is also in a position where optimizing his body for the events he most values requires taking those kinds of hits.

Djokovic knows he cannot just play the Grand Slams, as doing so would risk turning up without match readiness, as well as seeing his ranking take a significant hit as other players play more tournaments.

That would lead to harder draws at the Grand Slams themselves, making it more difficult to face Sinner or Alcaraz in the latter stages.

This year, Djokovic will have plenty of rest training time before starting his clay-court season at the Monte Carlo Masters in early April, an event he knows well having lived in the principality for most of his professional career.

Djokovic has not won an ATP Masters 1000 event, the rung below the Grand Slams which includes events such as Indian Wells, the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, since the start of 2024. This reflects his changed priorities since Sinner and Alcaraz began to dominate, as well as the limitations time is placing on his ability to win.

Before the start of 2024, Djokovic was prolific at ATP Masters 1000 level, winning 40 such titles between 2007 and 2023. In the last couple of years, he has had most success at ATP 250 events, using the lowest rung on the main ATP Tour as match practice ahead of the biggest tournaments in the sport. Two titles at that level took him past 100 for his career, leaving Jimmy Connors’ record of 109 tantalisingly within reach, as well as Roger Federer’s 103.

Taking no chances with the Miami Open still makes sense given his priorities, even if, as Djokovic himself said last year, he would have more chance of beating the top two in the shorter best-of-three format — and more chance of meeting them late at the majors with the rankings points going deep at a tournament like that in Miami would provide.

— Charlie Eccleshare

🏆 The winners of the week

🎾 ATP: 

🏆 Jannik Sinner (2) def. Daniil Medvedev (11) 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to win the BNP Paribas Open (1,000) in Indian Wells, Calif. It is his first title there.

🎾 WTA:

🏆 Aryna Sabalenka (1) def. Elena Rybakina (3) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) to win the BNP Paribas Open (1,000) in Indian Wells, Calif. It her first title there, too.

📈📉 On the rise / Down the line

📈 Elena Rybakina rises from No. 3 to No. 2 after her run to the BNP Paribas Open final, a new career high.

📈 Rinky Hijikata returns to the top 100, moving up 19 places from No. 117 to No. 98 after reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells.

📈 Talia Gibson rises 44 places from No. 112 to No. 68 after her run to the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals, also a new career high.

📈 Learner Tien ascends six places from No. 27 to No. 21 — another new career high.

📉 Danielle Collins falls 21 places from No. 78 to No. 99.

📉 Jack Draper drops 12 places from No. 14 to No. 26 after dropping the points from his 2025 BNP Paribas Open title.

📉 Iga Świątek drops below Rybakina from No. 2 to No. 3.

📉 Alexander Bublik leaves the top 10, moving down one place to No. 11.

📅 Coming up

🎾 ATP 

📍Miami: Miami Open (1,000) featuring Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, João Fonseca.

📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻, Tennis TV

🎾 WTA

📍Miami: Miami Open (1,000) featuring Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff.

📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel

Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men’s and women’s tours continue.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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