Daniil Medvedev asks ball girl to remove his shirt
Daniil Medvedev was overheard bizarrely asking whether a ball girl could remove his sweaty shirt as he battled the heat at the Shanghai Masters.
The Russian tennis player was struggling with cramp during his match against Learner Tien, of the United States, and had to receive a massage from his physio during a changeover.
Medvedev attempted to remove the shirt himself but struggled because of how drenched in sweat it was before he was overheard asking the umpire whether a ball girl could do it for him.
“Sorry, can I ask the ball girl to remove my shirt, I’m cramping here. I need to change my shirt,” he said. “If someone is happy to do it, I can try but I am cramping.”
The 29-year-old was then helped by ATP supervisor Gerry Armstrong who put the shirt behind him before Medvedev went on to win 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
With temperatures exceeding 30 degrees in China, Medvedev said after the match: “I like this tournament. When it is like 28 I suffer, many guys don’t. They suffer when it is like 33. I suffer in many tournaments, here everyone suffers so it puts me in the same conditions as everyone. I am happy about it.”
In addition to changing his shirt, Medvedev also used the changeover to tell the umpire his thoughts on handing him a code violation for taking his time over a serve during the match.
“All my life, I’ve been serving and waiting for Rafa [Nadal] for 55 seconds,” he said. “And you give me a code violation on the first occasion. I played Rafa five times, there was not one time I was ready to serve and he was ready to return. He didn’t get one time violation.
“All my life I’m the first one to serve first and wait on the returner every second of my f—— life so stupid you guys are crazy like you’re absolutely nuts.”
Medvedev to the umpire:
"All my life, I've been serving & waiting for Rafa for 55 seconds. And you give me a code violation on the first occasion. I played Rafa 5 times, there was not one time I was ready to serve and he was ready to return. He didn't get one time violation." pic.twitter.com/J88OklJi1y
— Corvath Draemir (@Archaicmind3000) October 8, 2025
Medvedev has been beaten by Tien in their two encounters this season having retired in their previous match, the semi-final of the Chinese Open, last week because of cramp. He heaped praise on the young American who many are tipping to be a top player in the future.
“I think the toughest part was that we played two times before, and in my opinion he is an unbelievable player, because he doesn’t have a great serve and serve is so important in tennis,” Medvedev added.
“Without the serve, he is 19 years old and 30-something in the world and only going up. In my opinion he is such a good tennis player. There are so many guys now who hit every shot full power and an amazing serve, he does not have it, but he manages to play so good without it. I thought I was going to lose again.”
The former world No 1 will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the last eight.
