A Big Tennis Match Ends in Controversial Fashion

Belgium's Zizou Bergs accidentally crashes into Chile's Cristian Garin, who does not continue
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2025 6:58 AM CST
A Tennis Match Ends in Strange Fashion
The collision.   (YouTube)

Belgium is advancing in the Davis Cup tennis tournament and Chile is not, and the reason revolves around a controversial ending to a match that the Athletic likens to an "international incident."

  • Belgium's Zizou Bergs, celebrating a key point, accidentally crashed into Chile's Cristian Garin as he sprinted toward his bench, reports the BBC. Bergs apologized as Garin fell to the ground. Watch the moment here.
  • Bergs received a violation for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Chile wanted him disqualified entirely. Garin, meanwhile, was cleared to play by an independent doctor but refused to return. Belgium thus won the match.

  • "This was a rare, unfortunate, and very delicate situation," says the International Tennis Federation, per the AP. "We understand the emotions attached to this unusual incident, but the final decision was made after consideration of all the facts and unique circumstances around it."
  • At the Athletic, Charlie Eccleshare writes that the incident "will open up the debate about what is or isn't acceptable behavior on the tennis court," a reference to Bergs' celebratory sprint to his bench.
  • A photo of Garin's swollen right eye was circulating after the match.
(More Davis Cup stories.)

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