Alexander Zverev issued maximum possible fines for rage-fuelled outburst
Following his ejection from the Mexican Open for striking the chair umpire’s stand, Alexander Zverev has been issued a $40,000 fine and forfeited all the points and prize money he earned at the event.
Following a doubles defeat to Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara, world number three Zverev erupted at the end of the match and ferociously swung his racket at the chair umpire’s stand.
This came after Zverev’s partner Marcelo Melo served wide but was returned by Heliovaara, with that return called in by the line judge.
As a result, Zverev launched an expletive tirade against the chair umpire, pleading for an overrule and shouting “look where the ball bounced” and “for f**k’s sake! It’s f**king your line!”
The German’s tempers flared in the immediate aftermath to their loss as he struck the chair umpire’s stand a total of four times, narrowly missing his foot on the second swing.
As such, the organisers decided to severely reprimand Zverev for his unacceptable actions and expelled him from the tournament.
After winning a behemoth match in the first round against Jenson Brooksby that lasted three hours and 20 minutes and ran until 4:55am, the latest match finish in ATP history, he had been set to play compatriot Peter Gojowczyk, but Gojowczyk received a walkover.
This compounds an already lacklustre start to the new year after Zverev lost in straight sets to young Canadian and world number 12 Denis Shapovalov at the Australian Open.
Whilst Olympic gold medallist Zverev took to social media to apologise profusely for his actions, he has now received the highest possible fine on top of a range of other punishments.
He has been fined a total of $40,000 (£30,000), $20,000 (£15,000) for each of his violations for verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike conduct. These are the maximum penalties that can be awarded for such violations.
Further, Zverev will now not receive any of the $31,500 (£23,500) prize money he had earned at the Acapulco event and has also forfeited the points he won whilst competing.
Despite such heavy punishments, the ATP has said it will review the incident further meaning Zverev could yet face more sanctions.
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