Situational awareness, it's called. Yes, photographers have to be aggressive to get the shot—the stories are legion, from elbows in the press scrum to obnoxious street photographers getting in peoples' faces. But you always have to have situational awareness.
Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, up two sets to love, was ahead in the third set and serving for the match in the first round of the United States Open Tennis Championships against Russian Daniil Medvedev. It's a tense moment; spectators need to be respectful. He nervously netted his first serve. Perhaps erroneously thinking the match was over, an as-yet unidentified photographer then ran along the edge of the playing area, where he's definitely not allowed to be, to get to a better vantage point. The Chair Umpire then said, over the P.A. system, "Wait, please. Not now! Get off the court, please." He awarded a do-over to Bonzi, allowing him to take his first serve again.
Hopefully it was the biggest "oops" of this guy's career*
The opportunity was immediately (and predictably) seized by Medvedev, who, despite actually being a pretty thoughtful and analytical guy, has long had a reputation as a "bad boy" with a sometimes sour and dyspeptic attitude. He can get a chip on his shoulder and is occasionally not entirely in control of his emotions. (A television announcer in Sydney, Australia, humorously commented that Medvedev "has yet to be accused of being a class act.") Inciting the crowd, Medvedev immediately went over to the referee and began berating him. Egged on by Medvedev, the crowd responded with an unruly protest, repeatedly preventing Bonzi from serving. It was six minutes before play could resume.
Medvedev then escaped the match point against him and went on to win the third set in a tiebreaker. Buoyed by surviving his close call, and with Bonzi perhaps understandably rattled by the hostility of the crowd (remember, Bonzi had done nothing wrong at all), Medvedev then dominated the fourth set 6–0 to even the match.
It's worth noting that the referee's ruling was entirely correct and in accordance with the rules. His mistake, if anything, was that when things got out of hand he probably ought to have called in the Tournament Referee to clarify his ruling for the spectators. It would have created a delay which might have allowed him to regain control of the crowd.
It's also worth mentioning that disrupting an opponent's momentum when the chips are down and the odds are against you is standard practice with a lot of tennis players at the highest level. Djokovic does it routinely, often discovering that he has some transient "medical issue" when oh-by-the-way things aren't going his way and he needs to disrupt his opponent's rhythm and the flow of the match. That's all that was really going on: Medvedev had an opportunity to create a distraction to get out of trouble, and he took it. Many of the top guys are detail-oriented to an apparently fanatical degree, even in matters like this, because matches and even tournaments can hang on things that outwardly appear to give them only a small edge. It's no accident that Medvedev is known for being an especially adroit strategist. His stamina and physical gifts are somewhat lacking, but he's managed to get the most out of his talent, having been as high as No. 1 in the world. In winning his sole major, at this very tournament in 2021, he prevented Novak Djokovic from becoming only the third male player in history to win a true Grand Slam. I personally think he's going to make a great coach for some lucky player someday, if he chooses to go that route. However, he's been struggling for some time now, dropping out of the top ten and winning only one match in the majors in 2025, after winning 24 matches across all four majors in 2024.
And he lost this time, too. Benjamin Bonzi recovered and won the fifth set 6–4, claiming the match—remarkably, the third time overall and the second time this year that the otherwise little-known world No. 51 Bonzi has beaten the renowned world No. 13 Medvedev in the first round of majors. Sometimes, one player just has another's number, like when a higher-ranked football team has a losing record against one particular lower-ranked nemesis. The two players shook hands amiably after the match, too—no hard feelings; it's just gamesmanship. They both understand that.
Of course, after the match, Medvedev childishly smashed a few of his sponsor's racquets sitting in his courtside chair. Hey, you're a grownup, now, man. (Medvedev is 29.) So grow up.
The photographer who started the whole thing has not been identified, but the U.S. Open confirmed that he was ejected from the Bonzi-Medvedev match after the incident and had his credentials revoked for the remainder of the tournament. Always got to maintain situational awareness.
Mike
*Ever had an "oops"? I've had a couple, but I ain't talking.
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Featured Comments from:
Mike Plews: "About the first month into my TV news career I got designated local airport pool for President Ford's visit to Sioux City. I got caught up in the moment and wandered between Ford and his Secret Service detail. Did not go well, but was not ejected. Live and learn."
Adam Lanigan: "I was shooting photos for a long-running, but now dearly departed, annual local music festival. For a few years they were also bringing in a number of notable comedians as a fairly natural extension the rest of the festival, which was focused on independent artists from all over. Having really only shot live music shows, I was used to moving around the room freely to get better angles, but now I was shooting the headlining comedy show in a still small and intimate venue (~200 capacity). At one point, I moved to the rear corner and stepped up almost to stage height on some steps to get some clearer shots over the crowd—thinking that in the darkened corner and away from the bright stage lights this would not be an issue. This, unfortunately, drew the comedian's attention and I was the target for some immediate sour looks and a few barbs about being on their stage, etc. I can still feel the immediate heat and the 'Oh, what have I done?' of that moment—shifting from a being a moving ghost in the background to a full-on target in an instant. Luckily this was only locally embarrassing rather than internationally, but definitely that same situational awareness issue and lack of understanding of the rules of engagement."
Edward Taylor: "As a young newspaper photojournalist, I was photographing a US Senate hearing with my trusty Canon F1, and apparently the shutter was making too much noise. The chairman of the hearing stopped the proceedings and asked me to take fewer shots. Prior to that day, I had prided myself on my stealthy approach to news gathering. The feeling of being singled out in that chamber has always stuck with me, and it changed my future behavior as well."
Alex Buisse: "I shot tennis at the Rio Olympics, and there were very specific and strict rules about where you could shoot from, and when you could move. The photographer has been identified and said that he was assured by security that it was OK to move at this particular time. Shooting a first round of a major tournament has insanely complicated logistics, requiring to rush from match to match hoping to capture the important moments, especially the upsets, so it would be very understandable that the photographer wouldn’t have known what was going on and relied on security to see if it was OK to move. All in all, I am far from convinced that he did anything wrong!"
Mike replies: Others have opined elsewhere that Medvedev should have been penalized the point for raising such a ruckus over it. At the very least, the photographer must have found it excruciating that his mild faux pas was blown up into such an intense and extended diversion from the game.
Do it long enough and it's inevitable, just this summer I was desperately trying to position myself, but this woman sitting on the sidewalk was directly in the way. My thought at the time was- can't this woman see she's so obviously in the way, doesn't she have the simple, common courtesy to just... It only hit me after the fact- she was an observer to the event same as I, was clearly there first, and had every right. I was the rude and inconsiderate one who should have known better.
Posted by: Stan B. | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 12:21 PM
Brain fart. Who hasn't had those? I've had many.
While the final result may seem just, Bonzi did pay a price in the form of extra wear and tear on body and mind, which could make a difference if he goes deep.
Speaking of which, in terms of suspect injury breaks, yes, gamesmanship is a thing, but so is the psychology of pain. Real bodily pain is magically dulled by success, whether on the scoreboard or in the quality of one's performance, or, just as magically, can be exacerbated by failure. In other words, what can look like and work like gamesmanship may not be the intent. In the player's mind it may be legitimate concern, whether for the injury itself or for the sake of giving themselves the best chance to perform. Of course, sportsmanship is also a thing.
Posted by: robert e | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 02:24 PM
I found the entire incident very unsettling to say the least. We were treated to a near textbook demonstration of base human behavior, from the bizarre incursion of the photographer to the frank incitement of the crowd for selfish unsportsmanlike purposes by a wild-eyed Medvedev.
Worst of all, for me, was the behavior of the crowd itself. What started with amused reactions transformed into a raucous mob as people realized that unjustified fury was popular and accepted.
The madness of crowds is the madness of social media and is the madness of society itself all too often.
[Well said. —Mike]
Posted by: Gingerbaker | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 02:41 PM
The behaviour, also known as a "Professional Fowl" in other sports, is depressingly predictable .
But - there recently was a shining exception. Pat Rafter (Australian tennis player, won the US Open in '97 and '98). He even overrode the linespeople against himself, in order of fairness.
Now that's a class act. And being 'best and fairest' on tour didn't stop him from achieving the highest heights of his chosen sport. Makes all these little petty grifts and scams of the others all the more... less than.
I must admit that when I read that Medvedev ultimately lost, I might have done a small high five. Wish I was there to watch it. If only it wasn't in the U.S. No offence, but your country is losing its sh*t at the moment.
Posted by: Kye Wood | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 08:49 PM
This reminds me of an opposite situation. I have never been a pro but I have shot a few weddings. In this one instance I was doing my best to be unobtrusive but still get good shots of all the important moments when the priest started to pay attention to me while going thru the ritual by rote. As it went on he was actually signaling me where I should move to get the best angle for the next shot. All of this made me very uncomfortable but the couple was very happy with my results.
Posted by: Terry Letton | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 09:05 PM
One thing I learned the hard (but fun!) way was to never walk casually between a line of zoom-toting photographers in camo vests and the captured, tied-up bird that they are photographing as if they just discovered it in the wild.
[And, at a photo expo, don't go up by the bikini-clad young model and shoot back toward the big scrum of male photographers overloaded with gear shooting her as if they hired her. Your attention to "the wrong thing" will not be taken well. —Mike]
Posted by: TC | Monday, 25 August 2025 at 10:27 PM
"[And, at a photo expo, don't go up by the bikini-clad young model and shoot back toward the big scrum of male photographers overloaded with gear shooting her as if they hired her. Your attention to "the wrong thing" will not be taken well. —Mike]"
Very true. I once turned around and took a shot of all the tourists photographing a mediocre sunset in Luang Prabang, Laos, and man were those some sour faces. After they'd left, as it happened, who else but Michael Kenna showed up and told me that "the light is about to get really good." He was right.
Posted by: TC | Tuesday, 26 August 2025 at 12:52 AM
here is the photographer recount of the facts.
[Except that's wrong—he obviously did do something wrong. He merely alleges that he did it because "security personnel" told him "the match was stopped" and it was okay. Well, obviously the match was not stopped and it was not okay. That might push the blame back another layer—if he could prove it—but it doesn't mean that what he did wasn't wrong. --Mike]
Posted by: Marco | Tuesday, 26 August 2025 at 06:37 AM
Mike—exactly! If you’re paid and credentialed to shoot a Grand Slam tennis event, you should know when the match is stopped (changeover, injury timeout, match complete etc). Any casual observer would have little doubt that the match was in play and would not have wandered onto the court like he did. That said, the chair exercised poor judgement in awarding a first serve for the few seconds of delay. In fact if he had not repeatedly admonished the photographer and just said once to get off the court, it’s likely to have not been anymore disruptive than an un-corralled first service ball and no controversy would have occurred. Medvedev took advantage of that lapse in judgement and everyone knows he’s no Patrick Rafter.
Posted by: schralp | Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 01:25 AM
When working as a photographer for a newspaper I shot a professional few golf tournaments over the years. I learned early on never to starting clicking away at the start of the golfer's swing when he/she was teeing off. I could only start shooting after the golfer hit the ball, because the sound the clicking camera and motor drive (these were the film days) could interrupt the golfer's concentration. Everyone was supposed to be totally silent.
Posted by: Gary Nylander | Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 01:28 AM
Years ago I photographed a track meet at the University of Washington
and at one point let my own 'situational awareness' falter for a moment.
The race was a women's mid-distance event featuring a staggered
start. As the runners raised up in the set position I fired my shutter
hoping to coincide with the starter's pistol. It was too early and the sound of my film camera caused one of the ladies to false start. She
did tell the officials she was distracted and was given a second chance.
In the meantime, I wanted to magically disappear from the scene!
Posted by: Robert Stahl | Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 05:26 PM
I was photographing from the sidelines of a Packer Viking game at Lambeau field. It's very difficult to shoot pro football if you are not practiced at doing it. But the line you can not cross is very obvious. My friend who was with me did not pay enough attention and for him, embarrassingly ejected.
Posted by: Jack Mac | Wednesday, 27 August 2025 at 06:20 PM