Tiafoe calls it 'comical' Musetti wasn't penalized for kicking a ball into French Open line judge

PARIS (AP) — Frances Tiafoe rolled his eyes as soon as the question arrived from a reporter, then called it “comical” that the player who beat him in the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday, Lorenzo Musetti, received only a warning for kicking a tennis ball that inadvertently hit a linesperson.

“I mean, obviously, he did that, and nothing happened. I think that's comical,” No. 15 seed Tiafoe said after his 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 loss to No. 8 Musetti. “Nothing happened, so there's nothing really to talk about. Obviously, it's not consistent, so it is what it is.”

Unlike at most top-level tennis tournaments, which rely on electronic line-calling, there are still humans on court at Roland-Garros to make rulings on whether shots land in or out. That was a separate gripe Tiafoe had Tuesday, because there were some calls he argued, including one that TV showed he was right about.

It's happened in the past that players have forfeited matches for striking a chair umpire or a line judge with a ball and hurting them — whether on purpose or not. On Tuesday, the woman who was hit continued to officiate.

One of the most well-known examples of a player being disqualified came at the 2020 U.S. Open, where 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic angrily swung his racket at a ball between games and accidentally hit a female line judge in the throat.

Musetti — who won a bronze medal for Italy at the Paris Olympics and was a semifinalist at Wimbledon last year — had just dropped a game to trail Tiafoe 5-3 in the second set of their match at Court Philippe-Chatrier.

As Musetti was given balls so he could serve in the next game, he took a left-footed swipe at one and it sailed into a female line judge making calls behind a baseline. Musetti apologized, and the chair umpire announced that he was being given a warning for a code violation.

There is no penalty for an initial warning of that sort.

“Honestly, it was a really unlucky coincidence. I was a little bit, honestly, scared, because I really didn’t want to harm (anybody), of course. So I immediately went to the line umpire, and I of course said, ‘Sorry, I apologize to everyone,’” Musetti said. “It was right to have a warning, but I think the umpire saw that there was no intention about that, and that’s why probably (he) let me continue.”

Soon, Tiafoe claimed that set. But Musetti took the last two to earn his first trip to the semifinals at Roland-Garros.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

United States' Frances Tiafoe and the chair umpire check the mark on the clay as he plays against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy's Lorenzo Musetti plays a shot against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Italy's Lorenzo Musetti plays a shot against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

United States' Frances Tiafoe and the chair umpire check the mark on the clay as he plays against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti during their quarterfinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Enzo Maresca left his post as Chelsea head coach on Thursday after a reported deterioration in his relationship with the Premier League club’s hierarchy.

The Italian coach was midway through his second season in charge. In his first season, he won the Conference League and Club World Cup.

Last month, Maresca said he had experienced his “worst” 48 hours at Chelsea and expressed his unhappiness at a lack of support at the club, but didn’t go into specific reasons.

Chelsea is in fifth place in the Premier League, but has won just one of its last seven league matches, and has advanced to the English League Cup semifinals, where it will play Arsenal over two legs.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football," Chelsea said in a statement, "Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track.”

Chelsea is coming off a 2-2 home draw against Bournemouth in the league on Tuesday, and next plays second-place Manchester City away on Sunday.

The club said Chelsea's achievements under Maresca “will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.”

There was no immediate word on his potential successor, with Chelsea seeking a fifth full-time manager since the takeover of the club by American investors, fronted by Todd Boehly, in May 2022.

In the past 3 1/2 years, Chelsea has spent hundreds of million of pounds (dollars) in what looked from the outside a chaotic bid to sign players to refresh its squad. It now has one of the youngest and most talented squads in the Premier League, with star players including Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Estevao, but managers have struggled to get the players to gel as a team after so many changes.

Out of all the managers to have led Chelsea in that period — and they include Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino, the current coaches of England and the United States, respectively — Maresca appeared to have handled the chaos the best.

Yet he reportedly didn't feel appreciated given the tough working conditions and, according to the BBC, recently switched agents. A few weeks ago, media reports in England linked Maresca with a possible move to Man City — where he briefly worked under Pep Guardiola — should Guardiola eventually leave, though Maresca played the reports down.

Chelsea's results have taken a downturn in recent weeks, since a 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League in November.

The team's only league win in the past month was a 2-0 over Everton. There have been draws with Arsenal, Newcastle and Bournemouth (twice) and losses to Leeds and Aston Villa.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca reacts during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atalanta and Chelsea, in Bergamo, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca sits on a bench ahead of the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Qarabag and Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 5, 2025. (AP Photo, File)

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca, left, gives instructions to Estevao during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Bournemouth in London, England, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)