The men’s tennis association has suspended Alexander Zverev for eight weeks for hitting his racket against the referee’s chair in Acapulco.
Alexander Zverev issued a one-year probation for outbreak in Acapulco (Reuters Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- ATP has given Alexander Zverev an eight-week ban due to the Acapulco outbreak
- Zverev had come dangerously close to hitting the chair umpire in Acapulco
- Alexander Zverev was later banned from the Mexican Open in Acapulco
World No. 3 Alexander Zverev has been banned by the ATP for eight weeks for hitting his racquet against the umpire’s chair at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco last month.
Zverev was fined $20,000 for verbal abuse, $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, and lost more than $31,000 in prize money and all ranking points he earns from singles and doubles actions at the Abierto Mexicano tournament would have.
After a review, the ATP found the 24-year-old German had engaged in “aggravated behavior” and imposed an additional $25,000 fine and an eight-week ban from all ATP-sanctioned events.
The ban and the additional fine have been suspended, according to the ATP, with the proviso that Zverev is not threatened with any further fines for unsportsmanlike behavior for a probationary period that ends a year after the incident.
After losing in doubles in Acapulco and getting upset with a line call in the game, Zverev approached referee Alessandro Germani’s chair and came dangerously close to hitting him as he swung around at the referee’s stand before heading to his seat at the edge of the field.
The 2020 US Open runner-up then approached the chair a second time and hit it again while yelling expletives. Shortly before the end of the match, Germani Zverev handed over a code violation for yelling and swearing in protest of the scored shot and set up the match point.
Zverev, the defending champion in singles, apologized for his behavior. The biggest penalty in men’s tennis to date was given to Australian Nick Kyrgios in 2019 for berating a chair umpire and smashing two racquets. After an initial $113,000 fine, he was handed a 16-week suspended sentence and an additional $25,000 fine following an ATP investigation.
