Medvedev threatens retirement in Shanghai semifinal over replay dispute, loses to Jodar

Daniil Medvedev threatened to retire during his Shanghai Masters semifinal against Rafael Jodar on October 17, 2026, after a dispute with chair umpire Adel Nour over a replay request. The incident occurred in the first set with Jodar serving at 4-2, 40-40. After Medvedev's return went out of bounds, he requested that the umpire show a replay of Jodar's preceding forehand shot, which he believed had landed outside the line. Nour initially refused, citing ATP protocol that only permitted review of the final shot of a rally. Medvedev argued that because his own return was out, Jodar's forehand constituted the last relevant shot and should be reviewable.

When Nour maintained his position, Medvedev escalated the confrontation, telling the umpire: "I'm not moving; I can retire, I don't care. The ATP gives me a fine anyway. I will retire; show me the ball." After several minutes of standoff, Nour contacted tournament officials via radio and an exception was made. The replay was shown on the stadium screen, confirming via the electronic line-calling system that Jodar's forehand had landed in bounds. The interruption lasted approximately two minutes. Despite the outcome validating the umpire's position, Medvedev's frustration had visibly affected his composure heading into the remainder of the set.

Jodar controlled the match throughout, winning 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 44 minutes. The Spaniard finished with 21 winners to Medvedev's 15, converted four of seven break points, and won 69 points to Medvedev's 61. At 20 years old, Jodar became the youngest finalist in Shanghai Masters history. Medvedev, ranked sixth globally, saved four set points in the opening set but could not recover the momentum lost during the dispute. The Russian was coming off a disqualification at the Beijing China Open one week prior, when a ball he struck inadvertently struck a spectator in the face.

Jodar advanced to face fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final after Davidovich defeated top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal. For Medvedev, the loss closed his realistic pathway to reinforcing his position in the ATP Finals qualification race. He had entered the Shanghai tournament in strong form, with an 11-1 record before the event, including a title at Hangzhou. The Shanghai Masters, which Medvedev won in 2019, remains an ATP 1000 event with a prize fund exceeding $9.4 million.