Frances Tiafoe, a professional tennis player, has been fined a substantial amount of $120,000 for his outburst at a chair umpire during the Shanghai Masters tournament last month. The ATP, the governing body for men's tennis, made the announcement on Thursday regarding the fines imposed on Tiafoe for his behavior.
The fines committee of the ATP penalized Tiafoe with a $60,000 fine for aggravated behavior, in addition to a maximum on-site fine of $60,000 for verbal abuse. The incident took place during Tiafoe's match against Russian player Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters in October.
The outburst occurred when Tiafoe received a time violation on a first serve in the final set tie-break with the scores tied at 5-5. Tiafoe expressed his frustration towards chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote, claiming that he had already tossed the ball up and was ready to serve. However, Pinoargote insisted it was the second serve, leading to a heated exchange between the player and the umpire.
Following the match, which Tiafoe lost, he directed a series of expletives at the umpire while Safiullin attempted to celebrate his victory. Tiafoe's behavior drew reactions from the crowd, with some members audibly laughing at the situation.
After the incident, Tiafoe took to social media to issue an apology for his actions. He acknowledged that his behavior was unacceptable and expressed disappointment in how he handled the situation. Tiafoe emphasized that such conduct does not reflect his true character and extended apologies to the umpire, the tournament organizers, and the fans.
