Mark Lajal did this last month and only received a code violation for racket abuse. Does ATP need to change the rules before someone gets hurt?
posted by u/finneas998 · 2026-10-28 14:26 UTC
## Top comments
1. u/Worth_Valuable743 · 2026-10-28 14:36 UTC
He should have been DQ'd for that. Super dangerous. And I was a feisty junior player who once tossed his racquet over the tall fence separating my court with a dining area. It landed on a table where some ladies were enjoying their iced tea and I was docked a point. I should have been DQ'd.
2. u/parkeyb · 2026-10-28 14:56 UTC
Did you win the match?
3. u/Ancient-Pen4554 · 2026-10-28 15:26 UTC
No, but they later got silver in javelin throw at the 2008 summer olympics
4. u/MusicianphotogD750 · 2026-10-28 14:41 UTC
I completely understand the level of stress and pressure players at his level and income are under - still, this is unacceptable and should be a DQ, points removed, money forfeited.
5. u/ponshont · 2026-10-28 15:04 UTC
I don't understand why they don't just smash the racquet on the ground. Hold it like a hammer and just go at the ground. Or if you want to throw it, do the Roddick Method.
6. u/renome · 2026-10-28 15:11 UTC
I will take every opportunity to link to the latest rendition of the Roddick method because there are numerous versions (he explained it quite a few times) and each explanation grows more serious and meticulous. 😂 Quite a contrast with Bublik's summer school of racket abuse, which focused on how to maximize racket damage instead of minimize audience risk.
7. u/PugnansFidicen · 2026-10-28 16:39 UTC
Smashing on the ground can also damage the court surface. Shouldn't be allowed either.
Smashing it on your foot like Roddick did a couple times, or coldly snapping it over your knee like Wawrinka, is still not the classiest behavior on a tennis court but it is acceptable. You're only hurting your own equipment and only potentially endangering yourself.
8. u/castorkrieg · 2026-10-28 14:50 UTC
This is not an excuse, check rugby where people actually learn respect and are not POS.
9. u/VegetableChipsLover · 2026-10-28 14:56 UTC
You're getting downvoted, but I think you're right. I don't watch rugby at all, and team sports can be easier due to less frustration on oneself, but I've seen less rage than this example here in other sports (even, at times, hockey)
10. u/essosinola · 2026-10-28 15:04 UTC
He's getting downvoted because he compared tennis negatively to another sport even though it's a perfectly valid negative comparison to make.
11. u/pizzainmyshoe · 2026-10-28 14:39 UTC
DQ them if they throw a racquet into the stands
12. u/wificentrist · 2026-10-28 14:27 UTC
Yup
13. u/Odra_dek · 2026-10-28 14:29 UTC
Classic problem of Law actually.
You drive way too fast, have an accident, kill someone, go to jail. If you only total your car, then basically nothing happens. Even though the "act" what you did was exactly the same.
14. u/jbartlettcoys · 2026-10-28 14:31 UTC
In philosophy this concept is called moral luck (insofar as it relates to morality rather than law, of course)
However, drink driving is punished quite heavily legally, not as heavily as manslaughter but still. No reason the same couldn't be true here. Throw your racket in a dangerous manner = severe punishment. Decapitate someone in the crowd = even more severe punishment.
15. u/essosinola · 2026-10-28 15:07 UTC
You drive way too fast, have an accident, kill someone, go to jail.
In the US at least, homicide with a vehicle has a shockingly high number of cases that do not result in prison time.
16. u/Illustrious_Bunch146 · 2026-10-28 14:48 UTC
Why does it matter if he hit someone or he didn't. At the end of the day he threw the racket into the stands which is unacceptable. Whether someone happens to be there or not is the key. If someone was hit he would have been disqualified.
17. u/lucretia-mott · 2026-10-28 14:32 UTC
Mark Lajal settle down bro
18. u/Dangerous_Air_7031 · 2026-10-28 14:42 UTC
Seriously messed up.
19. u/laranne27 · 2026-10-28 14:51 UTC
Should be such a black and white rule. Racket ends up in the stands, you’re done.
20. u/Prestigious-Cat-297 · 2026-10-28 14:30 UTC
i mean people have gotten hurt and then DQd
idt they care