Aces & Faults: The lowest moments of the past decade

From the humorous to the heartwarming to the head-scratching, it's time to shout out a decade’s worth of highs and lows. In sport, there's no such thing as perfect. Although the last decade was full of inspiring moments that captivated fans around the world, there were some speed bumps along the way.

Here are the Top 5 lowest moments of the decade.

1

2011: During the 2011 US Open doubles final, Philipp Petzschner didn’t use his racquet to win a pivotal point in the match, but rather his leg. Instead of giving up the point, the German denied that the ball touched him. Petzschner and Jurgen Melzer would still take the title in dominant style by a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline.

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2

2012: David Nalbandian was known to be a fiery character on the court, but in this fault it went a little too far. The Argentine was competing in the 2012 Queen’s Club final against Marin Cilic, when he missed a shot, got upset and kicked the signage in place around a linesman.

The linesman was injured and left with his shin covered in blood. Although Nalbandian attempted to talk his way out, the damage was done, and he was disqualified.

3

2012: Wanting to make tennis more interesting and appealing for television, Madrid Open's innovator Ion Tiriac decided to switch to blue clay in 2012. The bold move wasn’t a win with the top players such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

After falling to Fernando Verdasco, Nadal complained about the surface, stating, “it’s impossible to move.” He even considered boycotting the event. The blue courts did not return in 2013.

4

2016: In the words of late R&B singer Aaliyah, “Age ain’t nothing but a number,” and this could be true for 69-year-old Gail Falkenberg. Taylor Townsend only lost 12 points during their second-round qualifying match in Alabama in 2016. Despite the train wreck of a match, Falkenberg had captured her opening qualifying match the day before. The ITF has significantly overhauled its system in 2019.

5

2019: Racquet smashes, meltdowns, and cuss words are just what you get with Nick Kyrgios. The Aussie isn’t afraid to say what he thinks, but this year in Cincinnati he picked up a record-setting $113,000 fine because of his bad-boy actins.

During his second-round loss to Karen Khachanov, Kyrgios berated the chair umpire, spit in his direction, changed his racquet grip during a return game, and walked off court to smash two racquets.

It's safe to say that the last decade was full of many, many highs and just a few lows. We'll see you in the next 10 years.