From McEnroe to Medvedev, meltdowns on tennis courts are part of the sport's mental challenge

PARIS (AP) — The tennis season is heating up with the French Open underway. That means that racket-smashing moments can’t be far off.

In a sport known for its mental challenges, it’s part of the game to see top players lose their cool on court. In recent weeks, Daniil Medvedev and Daniel Altmaier have each had memorable, racket-mangling meltdowns on Europe's clay courts.

But it's nothing new, as anyone who remembers watching John McEnroe decades back can attest to.

So what goes on inside players' heads that results in temper tantrums before packed stadiums?

“It’s not about tennis,” said former top-five player Andrey Rublev, who is known for his on-court anger — he sometimes bloodies his hands and body when he punches his racket strings and slams his knees to get the frustration out.

“All (people) have this situation in life and you just lose it,” added the 13th-ranked Rublev, whose coach, Marat Safin, said he broke 1,055 rackets during his playing days.

“It doesn’t have to be tennis. It’s just the thing (in) tennis you are alone and they are watching you," Rublev said. "Some people face it better, some let those emotions kind of control you. I’m one of those guys who let those emotions to take over me.”

Medvedev, a fellow Russian, is the same way.

Medvedev smashed his racket on the red clay seven successive times midway through an unusually poor performance from the former No. 1 player at the start of the clay-court season — a 6-0, 6-0 “double-bagel” defeat to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Medvedev finished off his angry display by depositing his mangled frame in a court-side trash bin.

“When I broke the racket, I kind of didn’t (want to),” Medvedev said. “Usually I do want to do it when I do it. There I didn’t want to. But I was like, ‘You know, it’s 6-0, 6-0. I cannot win one point.’ Maybe sometimes this can give you a boost. And it didn’t.”

Last week, German player Altmaier slammed his racket on the clay and then kicked the frame into the stands when his frustration boiled over during a tournament in Hamburg. He was fortunate that no spectators got injured because of his behavior.

Even Roger Federer was known for smashing his racket as a junior player. Then he cleaned up his act and become one of the classiest — and most successful — players in tennis history.

At the 2009 U.S. Open, Serena Williams was penalized for shouting and cursing at a line judge who called a foot fault.

In 2020, Novak Djokovic was kicked out of the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball — resulting in a stunning end to his 29-match winning streak.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has also been known to lose her cool. Although she's improved in that department lately.

“My emotions were destroying my game and my level was dropping dramatically when I would start overreacting on everything,” Sabalenka said. “At the same time, my opponents would see that and they would step in and play better.”

Sabalenka said keeping her emotions in check has been “a huge improvement over the years in my career and really helped me to level up.”

When Coco Gauff’s off-court racket-smashing moment at the Australian Open was documented on camera, it opened up a debate about players’ privacy.

Fifth-ranked Jessica Pegula also tends to keep her racket-smashing for off-court moments.

“I go find some place that’s like maybe not near people and then I can break a racket,” Pegula said.

On court, Pegula is able to keep her emotions in check.

“I’m not a super emotional person in general, so I think for me to like get to that point is a lot, but I think it’s entertaining,” Pegula said. “Sometimes I wish I could kind of wear my heart on my sleeve a little bit more and show more emotion, but it’s not exactly my persona.”

Naomi Osaka is another player known for keeping a steady demeanor on court. It wasn’t always that way, though.

“Honestly, I had a pretty bad attitude when I was younger and my dad had a stern talk to me about it,” Osaka said.

Osaka now releases her anger so quietly that it’s hardly noticeable.

“I actually do curse a lot on the court,” Osaka said. “I say it so softly you can’t hear it and I’m really glad, because I don’t want to get fined for that.”

Sorana Cirstea, the 36-year-old who this week became the oldest player to make her debut in the top 20, had a simple explanation for all the displays of emotion.

“It’s such a mental sport. Also, to be able to sustain that mentality for three long hours with all the adrenaline and the pressure, sometimes you don’t handle it the best,” Cirstea said. “We are human.”

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

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during their first round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Mirra Andreeva of Russia tosses her racket after losing a point against Coco Gauff of the United States during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The tennis ball casts a shadow on the court, left, as Daniil Medvedev of Russia serves to Adam Walton of Australia during their first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during their first round women's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Daniil Medvedev of Russia returns to Adam Walton of Australia during their first round men's singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament in Paris, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

BUGGENHOUT, Belgium (AP) — A crash between a bus and a train traveling at high speed in northern Belgium killed four people, including two children ages 12 and 15, and injured five other children, officials said Tuesday.

The injured children were hospitalized in serious condition, said Lisa De Wilde, spokeswoman for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office. The collision happened at a level crossing during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) northwest of the capital, Brussels.

The minibus driver and an escort were killed along with two children, De Wilde said at a news conference. She said that the cause of the crash hadn't been established. Investigators were questioning witnesses and checking security camera footage.

“What we do know is that the barrier was closed and the red light was on,” she said.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said that the badly damaged bus lay toppled on its side, its front section crushed flat. Forensic experts in protective white suits and wearing gloves were taking photos of the scene. A forensics tent was erected nearby. The train was relatively unscathed.

The train was estimated to be traveling at about 120 kph (75 mph) as it approached the crossing and had “no time to brake," said Frédéric Sacré, a spokesman for Belgian rail operator Infrabel.

“The impact was extremely violent,” Sacré told RTBF public broadcaster.

Federal Police spokesperson An Berger said that the bus driver appeared to have ploughed through the train barrier. Infrabel said that the crossing was working correctly. A security camera there showed that the bus, which had a total of nine people aboard, was still moving when the train hit it.

It’s believed that about 100 passengers were aboard the train and that none of them were hurt. Rail traffic in the area was halted and bus services provided for travelers. Local officials stood for a minute's silence after the news conference.

Children played basketball and rode bicycles at a school not far from the scene in this bucolic town.

In a social media post, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin expressed “great sadness” over “the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones.”

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Lorne Cook reported from Brussels. Mike Corder contributed to this report from The Hague, Netherlands.

Police tape cordons off a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

Police and rescue personal work around a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

Police and rescue personal work around a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

A vehicle lays on its side next to a house after a collision between a train and a van at a level crossing in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Police and residents gather around a level crossing where a train collided with a van in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marius Burgelman)

This video grab shows rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (VTM via AP)

Rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Koen Baten)

Rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Koen Baten)

Rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, Tuesday, May 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Koen Baten)