The governing body of men’s tennis has confirmed that a review of an incident involving Alexander Zverev at the Mexico Open is ongoing after the German was disqualified from the tournament.
Earlier this week the world No.3 hit the umpire’s chair with his racket and used abusive language against the official during his first round doubles match. Zverev, who was playing alongside Brazil’s Marcelo Melo, lost his cool during the final set tiebreaker. Down 6-8, a Melo serve out wide was returned in by their opponent and was called good by the umpire. Even though fans and Zverev argued that the ball landed out. The placement of the shot was directly below the umpire’s chair and therefore he had the best view of it. However, Zverev was furious with the decision.
“Look where the ball bounced for F*ck sake. It’s your line. It’s f*cking your line. You f*cking idiot. F*ck off!” Zverev shouted at the umpire.
Following the outburst the German was handed a code violation for an audible obscenity. Then after the match ended he struck the umpire’s chair with his racket three times out of anger whilst the official was still sitting in it. During one of those swipes he nearly hit the right foot of the umpire. He then swore at the official two further times before hitting his chair once again.
As a result of the incident, the German was thrown out of the tournament. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ATP confirmed that Zverev has been fined $20,000 for verbal abuse and another $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct. These are the maximum penalties that can be issued for those code violations. Furthermore, he has forfeited his prize money ($31,570) and ranking points earned from the tournament.
The 24-year-old has since apologized for his actions and said he will take time to ‘reflect’ on his behaviour in order to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behaviour during and after the doubles match,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable, and I am only disappointed in myself.
“It should not have happened and there is no excuse. I would also like to apologise to my fans, the tournament and the sport that I love.
“As you know, I leave everything on the court. Yesterday, I left too much. I’m going to take the coming days to reflect – on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again. I am sorry for letting you down.”
The decision to remove Zverev has been backed by his peers with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal all speaking in favour of the decision.
“I enjoy good relations with Alexander, but at the end of the day the punishment is deserved,” Nadal commented.
“One cannot behave in this manner and I believe he is conscious of that.”
Zverev’s next tournament is set to be the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells which will begin next month.
