Keeping one's cool in a high-stress environment isn't a piece of cake. Stakes are high across all jobs, and when there are millions on the line, like in professional sports, tempers are bound to flare.Players get too competitive at times, and lash out at their opponents. At times it's a case of sour grapes, and on other occasions, perhaps a justified rant arising out of their opponent's poor sportsmanship.The 2025 tennis season witnesses its fair share of on-court rows. Here are five of the most infamous incidents when players got involved in a dispute with each other in 2025:#5. Alexander Bublik was ready to trade his racket for fists against Corentin MoutetOne of the earliest instances of a spat between players this year went beyond mere words. Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet are known to fly off the handle from time to time. So when they crossed paths at the Arizona Tennis Classic, an altercation between them was inevitable.Their quarterfinal showdown was characterized by frequent momentum shifts. After considerable back-and-forth in the deciding set, Bublik broke for a 6-5 lead, and stepped up to serve for the match. The tension had been building up, and hit its peak at this point.Bublik was ready to serve for the contest but Moutet wasn't prepared to receive, and indicated as such. The Kazakh stated that wasn't his problem, and went on to win the match. When they met at the net for the post-match handshake, a few words were exchanged, and the chair umpire had to step in to avoid a full-blown fight."I am not ready," Moutet was heard saying."I don't give a sh*t" Bublik was heard replying.Jack Sock had some inside information on the matter, which he later revealed on the Nothing Major podcast. Bublik tried his best to tempt Moutet into getting physical but the latter exercised his restraint."He offered it, Bublik said let's go to the parking lot! He said, 'Do you want to go... we can go to the parking lot right now,'" "He goes, 'Do you wanna fight?' And Corentin Moutet, like, started laughing as if it was... but I think Bublik was like ready to take the gloves off and go," Sock said.Fortunately, neither player let their fists do the talking on this occasion, maintaining a sense of decorum on the ATP Tour. It's not just fellow players that irritate Bublik. He even lost his temper with his coaching team at the Paris Masters.#4. Daniil Medvedev unleashes chaos at the US Open 2025Daniil Medvedev at the US Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)Daniil Medvedev's on-court antics at times go too far, and he certainly tested everyone's limits at this year's US Open. He arrived in New York on the heels of back-to-back first-round exits from the French Open and Wimbledon. The US Open was his last shot at redemption. However, after losing the first two sets of his first-round match against Benjamin Bonzi, he appeared on track for another early exit.Bonzi gave himself the opportunity to serve for the match in the third set, and that's when the drama ensued. He missed a first serve on match point, and the chair umpire awarded him another first serve on account of a cameraman abruptly leaving the court. Medvedev wasn't pleased by this, and argued with the umpire. He even goaded the crowd, who started booing the umpire and Bonzi."Are you a man? Are you a man? why are you shaking? What’s wrong huh? He wants to go home guys. He doesn't like to be here. He gets paid by the match not by the hour," Daniil Medvedev said.Medvedev fended off the match point, and went on to win the set. While he managed to force a fifth set as well, Bonzi eventually came out on top despite his opponent's underhanded tactics. While the Russian didn't directly engage with his opponent, his sportsmanship was questioned due to his behavior.#3. Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend's war of words takes a nasty turn at the US Open 2025Taylor Townsend got the better of Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets during their second-round contest at the US Open. However, their back-and-forth at the net overshadowed everything else that occurred that day.Ostapenko was miffed at Townsend for not apologizing for a lucky netcord that awarded her the point. She also pointed out that the American didn't follow the usual protocol during their pre-match warm-up, and billed her as disrespectful."Today after the match I told my opponent that she was very disrespectful as she had a net ball in a very deciding [moment] and didn’t say [sorry], but her answer was that she doesn’t have to say sorry at all," Ostapenko said."There are some rules in tennis which most of the players follow and it was the first time ever that this happened to me on tour. If she plays in her homeland, it doesn’t mean that she can behave and do whatever she wants," she added."In the beginning of the match all players are supposed to start warm up on the baseline. The opponent came out and straight away started the warm up at then which is very disrespectful and against the rules of a tennis match," she concluded.Townsend shared her side of the story, and mentioned how Ostapenko took a dig at her "class" and "education"."I mean, it’s competition. People get upset when they lose. She told me I have no class, no education, and to see what happens when we get outside the US. I’m looking forward to it. I beat her in Canada outside the US. So let’s see what else she has to say," Townsend said.This snowballed into a bigger controversy, with Ostapenko being accused of racism. She issued a firm denial regarding the same, attributing her poor choice of words to English not being her first language.#2. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniel Altmaier spar at the net following their US Open 2025 contestStefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)There was something in the air at this year's US Open. A third incident from the tournament saw another verbal tussle, this time between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniel Altmaier. The latter scored a massive upset, beating his higher-ranked opponent in a five-set classic.Earlier during the match, Altmaier deployed an underarm serve in the fourth set, which clearly annoyed Tsitsipas. Later in the set, the Greek launched a ball straight at his opponent as he approached the net. He offered a half-hearted apology, which was bought neither by Altmaier nor the crowd.When they met at the net for the handshake, Tsitsipas expressed his disapproval regarding the underarm serve, and stated that he intentionally hit Altmaier with the ball because of it. The German wasn't in a mood to deal with this, and walked away to celebrate his victory.Tsitsipas was also given a coaching violation during the match. His father, who's also his coach, was spotted giving him some verbal instructions from across the court, which earned him the penalty.#1. Coco Gauff and Belinda Bencic have a heated moment at the China Open 2025Belinda Bencic and Coco Gauff's fourth-round showdown at the China Open was marred by a squabble between the two players. The Swiss was left fuming over the crowd's behavior, and eventually lashed out at her younger rival as well.Despite nabbing the first set, Bencic couldn't keep the momentum going. When she was serving in the sixth game of the second set, she kept waiting for the crowd to go silent as they were continuously cheering for a winner that Gauff hit. This delayed her serving momentum, which sparked the initial back-and-forth between the players."There's nobody in the stadium. It's been so respectful," Gauff said."They can cheer after the point," Bencic responded.The situation worsened during the changeover after the seventh game. Bencic complained to the umpire about the unruly crowd, which also caught Gauff's attention. She voiced her own opinion, which evoked a furious response from Bencic."No one's talking to you. She's talking to me okay! Your team is chatting. I'm too old for these mind games okay," Bencic said.Bencic's sharp response caught Gauff by surprise. She didn't let it affect her game, and instead the incident motivated her even more. She went on to win the match, staging a successful comeback to silence her older rival.