French Open semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti reflects on unintentionally hurting a line umpire in win vs Tiafoe

On Tuesday, Lorenzo Musetti earned a major win over Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, securing a place among the tournament’s final four. However, the Italian player also found himself in the middle of a controversial incident involving a line umpire.

After taking the first set 6-2, Musetti was struggling in the second (which he eventually lost 4-6) when he kicked a ball that unintentionally struck a line umpire. The moment caused shock on the court, and many believed he could face disqualification, but he was only issued a warning.

“Yeah, honestly it was really unlucky coincidence,” Lorenzo said after the match, according to Tennis.com. “I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn’t want to harm nobody, of course. So, I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, ‘Sorry,’ I apologize to everyone.”

Musetti was fortunate that the match officials were convinced the contact was unintentional and did not warrant a harsher penalty. In fact, in a similar situation involving a ball girl during doubles at the 2023 French Open, Miyu Kato was defaulted.

American player Frances Tiafoe

“It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that,” the Italian explained regarding the incident. “And that’s why probably just, you know, let me continue my game.”

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Tiafoe wasn’t pleased

While Musetti seemed content with how the incident was handled by the officials, his opponent had a different take. “Yeah, I mean, obviously he did that and nothing happened. I think that’s comical, but it is what it is,” Frances Tiafoe said when asked about the controversy. “Nothing happened, so there’s nothing really to talk about. Obviously it’s not consistent, so it is what it is.”

What’s next for Musetti?

The quarterfinal win over Frances Tiafoe allowed Lorenzo Musetti to match his best performance at a Grand Slam event in his career. Prior to this, his deepest run at a major came at Wimbledon in 2024, where he lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic.

Now the Italian will look to break new ground on the clay in Paris, though he faces a major challenge ahead: on Friday, he will play his semifinal match against Carlos Alcaraz, the World No. 2 and reigning Roland Garros champion. The remaining two semifinalists will be determined Wednesday: Jannik Sinner vs Aleksandr Bublik and Alexander Zverev vs Novak Djokovic.