Tennis is a high-intensity sport, where players have to go through many hours of continuous stressful and tiring competition. The constant pace of competition and the long duration make the players sometimes unable to control their frustration. There are many reasons for anger, perhaps because the players are dissatisfied with their performance, disagree with the referee’s decisions or the pressure of the match.

These tensions and anger build up as the match lasts, causing players to lose control of their behavior. And hitting the racket in competition is a way that many tennis players use to relieve their psychology. Even legendary tennis players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic are no exceptions.

Let’s find out which of them destroys tennis rackets more?

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic: Who has broken the most tennis rackets in their career?

Rafael Nadal
Nadal has never broken a racket during his career. The Spanish tennis player is famous for his stubborn, persistent playing style and is not afraid of physical races. However, a long match has never been the cause of Nadal’s anger and loss of temper.

The reason comes from the education style of Nadal’s family. Since he was a child, he was taught not to show negative emotions, even during matches. According to Nadal, the act of breaking the racket only occurs when the player loses his temper and wavers, which is taboo.

Novak Djokovic
In contrast to Nadal, Djokovic is among the hottest players in the modern tennis industry. The Serbian star is quick to anger and does not hesitate to explode on the field. And the competition racket often becomes a place where Djokovic vents his anger. It is known that Djokovic has broken 54 rackets throughout his career.

Particularly in the match against Holger Rune at ATP Finals 2023, Djokovic broke 2 rackets.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer is famous as an artist on the tennis court. The Swiss tennis player possesses a beautiful, technical and beautiful playing style. Federer also rarely shows anger on the court. However, he also broke his racket 11 times during his career.

Most notably, in the match against Djokovic at the Miami Master in 2009, Roger Federer broke his racket after a bad shot.

Is there a penalty for breaking a tennis racket?

There is no rule prohibiting players from damaging their rackets. However, they can still be fined by the tournament organizers as a deterrent for this unsportsmanlike behavior.

Depending on the size of the tournament the players participate in, the fine ranges from 500-2500 USD. In cases where players break multiple rackets in a match, the penalty will increase.

Typically, in the Wimbledon 2023 final, Djokovic was fined up to 8,000 USD by the organizers.