Alexander Zverev was defending his singles title at the Acapulco Championship.
Tennis player Alexander Zverev, ranked third in the world, has been excluded from the Mexican Open following his “unsportsmanlike behavior” that saw him hit the referee’s chair at the end of a doubles match in Acapulco, Mexico.
German player Zverev argued with the referee during the tiebreak, as he and teammate Marcelo Melo lost 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 to duo Lloyd Glasspool and Harry Heliovara.
Zverev hit the referee’s chair several times with his tennis racket.
The 24-year-old later apologized, describing his behavior as “unacceptable”.
Zverev was defending his title in singles matches.
“Due to unsportsmanlike behavior at the end of the doubles match played on Tuesday evening, Alexander Zverev has been disqualified from the Acapulco tournament,” a statement from the ATP said.
As for his opponent, Petr Gojovczyk, was considered the winner of the meeting that was scheduled to meet with Zverev on Wednesday, and he will move to the third round of the tournament.
Zverev wrote on Instagram that he “specially apologized” to referee Alessandro Germani and was “disappointed with himself”.
“You know, I’m leaving everything behind on the field,” he said. “Yesterday, I left way too much.”
“I will spend the coming days thinking regarding what I did and how I will ensure that it does not happen once more,” he added.
Zverev thought that a ball was fouled off the field during the decisive game and began shouting at the referee, as the crowd took the referee’s side.
Then Britain’s Glaspool and Finland’s Heliovara finished off the match with an ace on the next point.
Zverev hit the referee’s chair three times and came close to hitting the referee’s foot at one point.
He continued yelling at the referee and waved his racket once more while the referee was getting off his chair.
The AFL defines unsportsmanlike conduct as “any misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or prejudicial to the success of the tournament, the association and/or the sport”.
Zverev is currently being investigated by the FFL over allegations that he acted violently with an ex-girlfriend. But he has repeatedly denied these allegations.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller says there is no doubt that Zverev has not slept well following playing a singles match that lasted until around 5am that same day, but he certainly has no excuse for his abusive, aggressive and threatening behaviour.
Referee Germani and all his colleagues will now look to the Professional Footballers Association to see what action it takes.
The first step will be the share of the supervisor of the course. It is likely to decide later today to withdraw the prize money allocated to Zverev and impose a fine on the Olympian.
Then comes the role of the first vice president of the Professional Players Association, who oversees the rules and the competition, who must decide whether Zverev’s behavior constitutes a “significant offense on the part of the player.”
If Zverev is found guilty under that code, as Nick Kyrgios was in 2019, he will be subject to a hefty fine and may be suspended from the tournament.
