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Bernard Tomic press conference fine

Bernard Tomic Wimbledon fine explained: The real reason he lost all of his first round prize money


Bernard Tomic, the bad boy of Australian tennis, was fined a total of £45,000 by the Wimbledon authorities after his 58 minute loss to Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the first round, but what is the official reason behind his severe penally

 

As professional tennis matches go, it was short! Bernard Tomic lost in just 58 minutes to Jo Wilfried Tsonga during the first round of the mens singles at Wimbledon 2019. The score was 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to Tsonga and following the match Bernard Tomic was fined his entire prize money of £45,000. But why?

The Grand Slams operate under a strict code of conduct which is laid out in a book totalling 82 pages of rules. The Grand Slams are the 4 biggest tournaments of the year which take place every year in Australia, France, England and then America. These 4 tournaments have their own rules as well as adopting many rules laid out by the professional tennis authorities such as the ATP, WTA and ITF.

‘Article 3: Player on-site offences, Section G: First Round Performance’ on page 42 of the rule book states that players must perform to a certain standard otherwise they are liable for a fine. This is where Tomic has fallen foul after the referee decided that he didn’t give the match his best effort.

The exact wording of the rule he infringed is as follows:

“All players are expected to perform to a professional standard in every Grand Slam match.With respect to First Round Performance, if in the opinion of the Referee the player did not perform to the required professional standard, the Referee may determine that the player be subject to a fine of up to first round prize money.”

This isn’t the first time Tomic has been involved in a similar situation as during an ATP match in Miami in 2014 he lost in 2 sets in 28 minutes.

You can read the complete Grand slam Rulebook here

Tomic was questioned about his performance in a press conference after the match and this was his response:

 

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.

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