Norway’s Casper Ruud says incidents of ‘reckless behaviour’ on the Tour this season by some players must be addressed in order to prevent a serious accident from occurring.
The governing body of men’s tennis has come under fire in recent weeks over their handling of player misconduct following a series of high-profile incidents. Alexander Zverev was disqualified from the Mexican Open for swearing and hitting the umpire’s chair with his racket during a doubles match. The German was later hit with a one-year probation but some critics argue the punishment should have been more strict. Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios has already been fined on multiple occasions for various code violations. At the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami he was docked a total of $70,000. Finally, Jenson Brooksby was given a $15,000 fine after throwing his racket which nearly hit a ball kid in Miami.
In response to incidents such as these, ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi issued an internal communication to players confirming that a review into the Player Code of Conduct has been launched. Furthermore, the governing body has instructed officials to take a stricter stance when it comes to dealing with those who break the rules.
Weighing in on the subject, world No.7 Ruud said he supports the action being taken by the ATP. Speaking on the Ruud Talk vodcast, the 23-year-old says such incidents bring ‘negative attention’ to the sport.
“I think it needs to stop. This has been two three cases now in within a month. So it’s reckless behaviour in a way,” said Ruud.
“It’s not something I wish to see, but at the same time, it kind of brings attention to the sport just in a negative way. I think the punishment is tough to say what is fair and what is not that they do get big fines, but for some of these players doesn’t seem like it matters. So it’s tough to say what we can do about it. “
“I mean, majority of players, they don’t do these things, but the way it’s looking, it can look like a big, big accident or incident can occur at any time. So let’s see, I mean, I think they have been getting some fines and some meetings probably with the board and the guys in the ATP who are deciding in the end.”
Although not everybody has the same view as Ruud. Alexander Bublik has accused the ATP of trying to put players into a ‘cage’ and argues that it is important for players to show their emotions during matches. Speaking specifically about Kyrgios, he says that even though the behaviour of the Australian isn’t always right, he still attracts fans to the sport.
“Nick brings tonnes of fans, what are they here for?” Bublik told Tennis Channel.
“This is sport, it’s supposed to be a bit of emotion and they (the ATP) try to put in some kind of a cage where we cannot talk. I am 24 and I see who brings attendances and fans to the game. Have you ever seen doubles fans? No. He brings doubles fans.
“Sometimes he does something not appropriate for tennis and they want to make a cage even tighter for us. I don’t think it’s good for sport, maybe if you are 65 and you come with your grandkids and they don’t want to hear bad words, but the reality is in America the stadiums were full. Australia they were filled, everywhere.”
Bublik’s comment was hailed by Kyrgios who retweeted his interview with The Tennis Channel along with the comment ‘nothing but facts.’
The ATP hasn’t said how long their review into the Player Code of Conduct will take.
