It wasn’t a happy March for ATP tennis. Although the tournaments took place with normal regularity, there were several unsportsmanlike incidents that affected the tournaments that followed the Australian Open.
Alexander Zverev opened the dance: during the Acapulco tournament, in the doubles match, the German tennis player hit the judge’s chair with his racket. For the number three in the world, the sanction was certainly not lacking: fine and disqualification with conditional, that is, these will be applied when it occurs to another unsportsmanlike conduct.
Not only Zverev, but there were other episodes: Kyrgios against Sinner at the Miami Open; Jenson Brooksby who, in his match against Federico Coria, threw a racket that almost hit a ball boy. To all these behaviors, Andrea Gaudenzi, the president of the ATP, decided to put a stop: “With immediate effect, the referee team of the ATP was ordered to take a tougher position when judging violations of the code of conduct”
ATP new decision on unsportsmanlike conduc
Until now, these unsportsmanlike behaviors have been sanctioned with a fine, but they have not affected tennis players’ participation in future tournaments. In the words of Andrea Gaudenzi, reported by the Reuters news agency, there is a clear desire to change course from the past.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “We are conducting a review of the code, as well as disciplinary processes, to ensure that appropriate and up-to-date penalties are imposed for serious and repeat offenders.”
Of these changes, players have been notified with an internal note. However, in the statements of Gaudenzi, there is no lack of reproach to the tennis players: in the three months since the start of the season, the number of unsportsmanlike behaviors has been high.
This, for Gaudenzi, is not a good model for the youngest: “These accidents throw a bad light on our sport. This behavior affects everyone and sends the wrong message to our fans, especially young players.”
We recall Zverev will be one of the protagonists of the clay-swing, with also Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Rafael Ndaal will be out for 4 weeks, he could come back for the Madrid Open and the Roland Garros. Daniil Medvedev will be out for two months.