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The photographer at the center of a tennis star’s meltdown at the 2025 U.S. Open says he is a “victim and totally innocent” as his credential for the tournament has been revoked.
Selcuk Acar, a freelance journalist and photojournalist, spoke with the Daily Mail after causing Daniil Medvedev to lose it on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium while facing Benjamin Bonzi in the first round on Sunday night.
An incident occurred during the third set when Acar stepped onto the court with Bonzi serving. Bonzi missed the first serve, but the match was paused as Acar was entering the court in between attempts.
Chair umpire Greg Allensworth gave Bonzi another first serve, which at that point, was for match point against the 13th-seeded Medvedev.
Medvedev lost it on Allensworth, and a nearly seven-minute delay ensued with both men going back and forth on the court.
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“This incident has already turned into a lynching, and although I’m innocent, I’ve suffered greatly,” Acar told the outlet. “If there’s a camera there, if it’s monitored, it will show that I returned to the official twice and didn’t enter.”
Acar added that a security official told him, “The match is stopped,” before he entered onto the court. He also said he has covered numerous high-profile events over his career, including Presidential visits to Europe and NATO summits. Acar also claimed to have done work at the FIFA World Cup.
“I’m not a photojournalist that can [make] such a mistake,” he said.
Nonetheless, the United States Tennis Association revoked Acar’s credential for the tournament.
“The photographer had been instructed to stay in place by US Open security,” they said in a statement, per The New York Post.
“The photographer disregarded these instructions and improperly entered the court between serves on match point. The Chair Umpire also instructed the photographer to immediately sit down, and these instructions were also disregarded. The photographer’s credential was revoked for the 2025 US Open.”
Meanwhile, Medvedev was going ballistic on Allensworth, and tried to get the crowd involved as well. With his arms raised in the air, he was encouraging them to boo.
“He wants to go home guys,” Medvedev was heard saying. “He doesn’t like to be here. He gets paid by the match, not by the hour.”
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After the match, Medvedev said that it wasn’t Acar’s situation that bothered him, but rather the decision to re-do Bonzi’s first serve.
“I was not upset with the photographer. I was upset with the decision,” Medvedev said. “The delay from the photographer was probably four seconds and a half. I’m not sure it’s enough for a (first) serve.”
Bonzi, on the other hand, thought his opponent crossed the line.
“I mean, the rule is the rule. The guy went on the court between two serves,” Bonzi said. “I mean, it’s not my call to say first serve. And I think, yes, Daniil started it, and he put oil on the fire.”
While Medvedev was able to salvage the third set, and the fourth, Bonzi was able to put him away in the fifth set to secure the massive upset of the Russian veteran.
The Frenchman won the match 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 0-6, 6-4 over Medvedev to move on to the second round, where he’ll face American Marcos Giron.
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