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24-year-old Alexander Zverev was fined $40,000 (over 30 lakh) and asked to forfeit prize money for his unsportsmanlike actions in the round of 16 matchups of the Mexican Open. The Olympic Gold medal winner was seen abusing and attacking the umpire's chair after he lost the game because of an apparent wrong call. Zverev was disqualified from both the doubles and singles events in Mexico.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) today released a statement announcing the further penalty for the German. The statement by ATP reported, “Following ATP’s withdrawal of Alexander Zverev from this week’s tournament in Acapulco due to unsportsmanlike conduct, the player has received the following on-site penalties; verbal abuse - 20,000 US dollars, unsportsmanlike conduct - 20,000 US dollars.
The Authorities have decided to make Zverev forfeit more than $30,000 of his prize money and strip all the ranking points earned at the ATP 500 Acapulco. “This represents the maximum fine per each violation. Zverev also forfeits full prize money of 31,570 US dollars (singles and doubles), as well as all ATP rankings points from the event,” the statement continued.
ATP also further clarified that it would take a further review of the incident. Over the completion of the investigation, the German could be given further sanctions, that could possibly lead to a ban. “A further review of the incident will now follow per ATP rules,” read the ATP statement.
Rafael Nadal also condemned the actions of Alexander Zverev during a press conference. He said, “It’s an unfortunate act, without a doubt, and I feel sorry for him because I have a good relationship with Alexander.”
“In the end, I think he deserves the sanction because you can’t act this way. I think Sascha is aware of that and I hope this will serve as a lesson for him and for other young people who sometimes also lose their nerves on the track.”
Nadal also talked about how ATP’s actions are justified in this situation.
“It is logical that the organization that governs our sport makes itself respected and makes respect for Chair Thursdays and sport in general. I am not going to enter into what is fair or not fair at the level of sanctions. But in the end, you do have to stop a little that type of attitude that becomes a little more fashionable”, said the 21-time Grand Slam winner.