Daniil Medvedev has broken his silence to explain why he withdrew from the Qatar Open after walking off court without shaking the hand of his opponent.
The Russian star made a swift exit from his encounter with Felix Auger-Aliassime in Doha, having lost the first set 6-3, with fans at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex dumbfounded.
But as the two players walked towards their chair during the break in between sets, Medvedev headed to the umpire Mohamed Lahyani and informed him that he would be cutting the match short.
Medvedev’s abrupt exit from the court and his apparent snub to Auger-Aliassime only added to the confusion, as the pair hadn’t engaged in any animosity.
However, the 29-year-old sought to clear up the matter by revealing that he had been suffering from food poisoning, which forced him to retire from the clash and hand Auger-Aliassime a walkover.
“Unfortunately I had food poisoning,” Medvedev said. “Very disappointed to end my run here in Doha like this as I feel like I was playing well. I look forward to coming back next year.”
Auger-Aliassime made light work of Medvedev in the first set, claiming four games in a row to take the opening set before the one-time Grand Slam winner threw in the towel.
There were no obvious signs that Medvedev was struggling and Auger-Aliassime, 22, appeared to be taken aback by Medvedev’s decision to retire, as the Canadian sat on his bench as usual for the end-of-set changeover.
Match commentators Arvind Palmer and Lee Goodall admitted his decision to pull out and not shake hands took them “by surprise.”
Palmer said: “I don’t think they even shook hands, did they?” And Goodall replied: “Scratching my head here. Did not see that coming. Like you say, I don’t think there was even a handshake, was there? Just put the racket away and off he went.”
The world No.4 has experienced a disappointing season so far, reaching only the second round at the Australian Open and leaving with a 1-1 record again in Rotterdam.
But he started to turn things around in Doha, winning back-to-back matches for the first time in 2025 to put together some momentum.
Medvedev had battled past his compatriot Karen Khachanov in a three-set encounter in the first round, before comfortably dispatching off Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the Middle East.
He will now be hoping to put his bout of sickness behind him as he looks to recover in time for the Dubai Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 event, next week.