Daniel Altmaier is out of the tournament in Hamburg. The loss is overshadowed by a heated outburst—the German player completely loses his cool.
Daniel Altmaier caused a major scandal during his quarterfinal loss to American Tommy Paul (2-6, 5-7) at the tennis tournament at Hamburg’s Rothenbaum, putting spectators in danger in the process.
What happened? Altmaier had conceded the break at 4-5 in the second set. The German was extremely frustrated during the changeover and smashed his racket on the ground. The racket flew toward the bench, and Altmaier kicked it.
Tennis: Altmaier escapes disqualification
The racket bounced off the bench and flew toward Altmaier. Instead of controlling himself, Altmaier kicked the racket again—this time with a volley. The racket then flew into the stands.
The spectators ducked out of the way; at first glance, no one was injured. A visibly annoyed spectator threw the racket back to Altmaier. The 27-year-old immediately apologized for his actions.
Careful, Daniel bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/I7DsnjZMI4
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 21, 2026
Incidentally, Altmaier was not disqualified—he was merely given a warning, which certainly surprised his opponent Paul. He ultimately won the match comfortably in two sets.
When Djokovic lost his cool
After Yannick Hanfmann’s elimination on Wednesday evening, Altmaier went into his match as the last remaining German professional. This means all German entrants have been eliminated.
Incidentally, Grand Slam record champion Novak Djokovic was disqualified at the 2020 US Open for a similar incident. Following an outburst of anger, he had unintentionally struck a line judge in the throat with a ball.