Serbia’s Davis Cup captain Viktor Troicki has sensationally declared Tony Jones should be “banned for life” for his treatment of Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open. And women’s champion Madison Keys has been barred from playing her planned next tournament because her ranking is now too high.

Djokovic is expected to miss about two months of tennis as he recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered at Melbourne Park, which eventually saw him booed by the crowd when he retired in the semis against Alexander Zverev. The 24-time grand slam champion has been forced to withdraw from Serbia’s Davis Cup tie with Denmark this weekend, and captain Troicki has unloaded with his thoughts on how Djkovic was treated in Australia.

As well as the booing, veteran Channel 9 host Jones was forced to apologise after comments labelled “insulting and offensive” by Djokovic. Jones told Serbian fans during a TV segment: “Novak’s a has-been. Novak’s overrated. Kick him out.”

The “kick him out” remark was a clear reference to Djokovic being deported from Australia in 2022, which he’s described as one of the worst experiences of his life. Speaking on Thursday, Troicki said: “If I had hired that journalist (Tony Jones), I would have fired him straight away. He would never work in sports again.

“I think they are treating Novak worse and worse. It is surprising and disappointing to see the greatest player of all time experiencing so many bad things happening in Australia again. To mock an athlete during the tournament is unacceptable. I don’t think an apology is enough. I think he should be banned for life from covering tennis.”

As for the booing, the former World No.12 said: “It was so surprising to see, especially in a place where he has played his best tennis and has won 10 titles, that he got booed after the injury. It was really disrespectful and disappointing.”

Madison Keys not allowed to play next tournament

Troicki’s comments come just hours after tennis fans were left gobsmacked by the situation surrounding Keys. The American, who won her first career major at the Australian Open, was originally slated to the play the ATX Open in Texas next month, which is a WTA 250 event.

Keys was ranked 21st in the world when she entered her name to play the event, but her Australian Open triumph has seen her rocket up to World No.7. But due to a little-known rule on the WTA tour, her ranking now means she’s not allowed to play at the ATX Open.

WTA rules dictate that only one player ranked inside the top-10 can feature at 250-level events, to “ensure balanced competition across all WTA events held during the same week”. A WTA 250 event offers 250 rankings points to the winner and is the lowest on a scale of 500 and 1000 events.

Tennis fans blast ‘crazy’ rule affecting Madison Keys

Because fellow American Jessica Pegula (World No.6) had entered into the ATX Open before Keys, it means Keys can’t play anymore. Tournament director Christo van Rensburg lamented the rule when announcing the news.

“Every year the ATX Open strives to bring some of the top women’s players in the world to Austin to compete in our tournament,” van Rensbur said. “This year is no exception. The success of Madison in Australia, where she played legendary tennis on a world stage, is further proof that the ATX Open is attracting the best talent in the game. We love Madison and have been anticipating for months the excitement of her playing here in Austin for the first time.

“While we wish the top-10 rule didn’t apply to our tournament, we respect the rules of the WTA. That said, Madison’s grand slam title and subsequent top-10 world ranking are both something to celebrate. We can’t wait to invite Madison again to future ATX Opens. We remain very excited to welcome Jessica to her first-ever ATX Open next month. She’s eager to compete in Austin.”

There’s no such rule in the male equivalent ATP Tour. Needless to say, it’s left tennis fans and pundits fuming over the “crazy” and “stupid” rule.