A 15-year-old Wimbledon junior player saw her tournament come to a shocking and sudden end after she accidentally launched her racquet into the crowd during her opening match.
German rising star Ida Wobker was trying to fight her way back into her first-round match against Romania’s Maria Valentina Pop on Saturday after dropping the opening set 6-0.
The second set was tied at 5-5, with Wobker trailing 30-love on Pop’s serve, when the teenager sent a backhand long.
Clearly frustrated, Wobker slammed her racquet into the grass and let go of the handle. But instead of remaining on Court 11, the racquet bounced off the turf and flew into the stands toward nearby spectators.
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The chair umpire immediately stopped play and called a supervisor onto the court. After officials spent several minutes reviewing what happened, the match was abruptly declared over.
Wobker was defaulted, handing Pop the victory.
There is no single automatic rule requiring a player to be disqualified every time a racquet or ball is thrown in anger. Officials typically consider whether anyone was placed in danger or struck during the incident.
Wimbledon’s Referees’ Office later confirmed to The Athletic that Wobker was defaulted because the loose racquet hit a spectator.
Fortunately, no one in the crowd was injured.
The dramatic incident came as Wobker appeared to be gaining momentum after her disastrous opening set. Ranked No. 24 in the ITF junior standings, the German teenager accepted the ruling without causing a scene.
She later reposted a message from former German professional Barbara Rittner, who serves as one of her mentors.
“(Poo emoji) happens. You learn from it!” Rittner wrote on Instagram.
The incident immediately drew comparisons to Novak Djokovic’s infamous default from the 2020 U.S. Open.
Djokovic was disqualified after angrily hitting a ball behind him and accidentally striking a line judge in the throat. Despite quickly apologizing, the multiple Grand Slam champion was removed from the tournament.
A similar controversy unfolded at the 2025 French Open when Lorenzo Musetti kicked a loose ball that struck a line judge in the chest during his quarterfinal match against Frances Tiafoe.
Musetti was allowed to continue, prompting Tiafoe to call the decision “comical.” Musetti later admitted he had been “a little bit scared” because he never intended to hit the official.