The ATP announced today, Wednesday, that German Alexander Zverev has been excluded from the Acapulco tournament in Mexico for “unsportsmanlike behavior” following his doubles match.
Zverev, who was playing doubles with Brazilian Marcelo Melo, came close to attacking referee Alessandrogermani following repeatedly attacking him with his racket following losing 6-2 4-6 10-6 once morest the duo of Lloyd Glasspool and Harry Heliovara.
“Due to the unsportsmanlike behavior at the end of the doubles match on Tuesday evening, it was decided to exclude Alexander Zverev from the tournament in Acapulco,” the FIFA said in a statement.
Zverev said he regretted his behavior and also apologized.
“It is difficult to find the right words to express my remorse for my behavior during and following the doubles match,” Zverev said in a statement.
“I personally apologized to the chair judge because my tantrum once morest him was wrong and unacceptable, and I feel frustrated with myself,” he added.
“This should not happen once more and there are no excuses. I would also like to apologize to the fans, to the tournament and to the sport that I love.”
After shaking hands with his opponents, Zverev, 24, ranked third in the singles competitions, went to the referee’s chair and hit him repeatedly before going to his chair on the field, as an expression of his frustration with the referee’s decision during the match.
Zverev went back to the chair and hit him once more, while shouting obscenities.
A day earlier, the US Open finalist completed a first-round victory over American Jenson Broxby by 4:55 a.m. local time, the first time a match has ever ended so late in professional tennis.
Zverev, who won last year’s Acapulco championship, will not play in the singles competitions where he was supposed to face Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk, who would secure a place in the quarter-finals.
Zverev’s tantrum may result in additional EU sanctions.
In 2019, Australian Nick Kyrgios was punished with an initial fine of 113,000 dollars, before being suspended for 16 weeks and subjected to an additional fine of 25,000 dollars following an internal investigation by the Professional Association.
In October of last year, the PTA opened an internal investigation into allegations of domestic violence once morest Zverev by his ex-girlfriend Olga Sharipova.
German tennis player Alexander Zverev was kicked out of the ATP 500 tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, for “unsportsmanlike conduct” following his doubles loss.
The world no. 3 claimed Olympic gold back in August but is this the mentality of a champion?pic.twitter.com/HhNwQAg5YI
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) February 23, 2022