German tennis star Alexander Zverev has been issued an eight-week ban for smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, where he was kicked out the tournament for his actions.
Zverev was fined £15,250 for verbal abuse, £15,250 for unsportsmanlike conduct and forfeited more than £23,640 in prize money as well as all rankings points earned from singles and doubles action at the Abierto Mexicano tournament.
The ATP then found Zverev had committed 'aggravated behaviour' and issued an additional fine of £19,060 and an eight-week ban from any ATP-sanctioned event following a review into the incident.
However, the ATP said the ban and the additional fine were suspended, providing that over a probation period ending one year after the incident, Zverev does not incur any more fines for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The world number three was kicked out of the tournament for ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ after he attacked umpire Alessandro Germani’s char with his racket. The German unleashed a furious tirade at the umpire before aggressively striking the umpire’s chair with his racket on several occasions - coming close to hitting the official.
Late in the match during the tiebreak, Zverev was seen arguing with the chair umpire, clearly frustrated after a contentious line call went against him and Melo. Germani handed Zverev a code violation for yelling and swearing in protest of the shot that was ruled in and set up match point.
The German was furious, shouting: “Look where the ball bounced, 8-6 in the tiebreak, for f***'s sake. It's f***ing your line. You're a f***ing idiot.”
Zverev, who was the defending champion, was kicked from the tournament as a result of his actions. He has since apologised for his behaviour.
The 24-year-old’s outburst received universal condemnation throughout the tennis world, and seven-time Grand Slam winner Mats Wilander believes that this kind of unacceptable violent outburst - which could very easily have resulted in an injury to the umpire - should see offenders commit to a rehabilitation process before being allowed back onto the ATP Tour.
He told Eurosport: “If a player breaks his racquet on the umpire’s chair and he is literally a few centimetres away from hitting the umpire’s leg, he should not be allowed to get on a tennis court until he has gone through some kind of rehab, some kind of time.”
The ATP defines unsportsmanlike conduct as ‘any misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the success of a tournament, ATP and/or the sport’.
