Djokovic booed – Novak Djokovic was booed “ruthlessly” at Roland-Garros in Paris Wednesday during his second-round match against Valentin Royer, drawing a direct plea from the chair umpire for the crowd to show respect. Djokovic shrugged off the backlash, won in four sets, and
In Paris on a hot Wednesday at Roland-Garros. Novak Djokovic heard the noise before he even got the chance to settle into the match. The 39-year-old faced Valentin Royer. 25. in the second round of the 2026 French Open. and the response from parts of the home crowd came fast and stayed sharp—booing him “ruthlessly” as he prepared to play.
After Djokovic shrugged off the jeers, the umpire leaned in over the loudspeakers to cool things down. “Ladies and gentlemen, please have some respect for both of the players.”
Djokovic could be heard replying immediately, the words cutting through the court atmosphere: “They don’t have respect. No respect. No respect.”
For a moment afterward, the crowd did what tennis crowds sometimes do when emotion takes over. Some cheered and clapped as Djokovic readied himself to serve, turning the confrontation into something messier than a simple disagreement between player and spectator.
Djokovic eventually took control on court. He defeated Royer in four sets—6-3, 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3.
At his post-match press conference, Djokovic said the heat wave was the harder opponent. He described the challenge of the conditions in blunt, practical terms after a match that ran long enough to drain anyone on clay.
“When you play a three-and-a-half hour match on clay, it’s long and very exhausting, at least in my opinion,” Djokovic said. “So, yeah, physically spent quite a bit of energy today on a very hot day, very challenging conditions.”
He added that his failure to close the match in straight sets came down to the third set. where he broke twice but couldn’t fully translate that into a clean finish. “It was obviously my fault I didn’t finish in straight sets because I broke up twice in the third. Match point. just too passive on those points. and he took his chances. and he got the crowd support he was looking for. and obviously momentum shifted. But I managed to kind of regroup in the fourth. It was very challenging.”.
The match left Djokovic to answer the question the crowd seemed intent on posing—whether respect is something fans owe players even when they disagree with them. Regardless of the reason behind the boos. the court saw a rare moment where a referee’s plea and a player’s frustration collided in the open.
Djokovic, seeded (3), will next face Brazilian Joao Fonseca, 28, on Friday.
Novak Djokovic Roland-Garros French Open 2026 Valentin Royer Joao Fonseca boos crowd respect clay tennis heat wave