The world number three yelled at the referee and then repeatedly slammed his racket on the referee’s seat after a double loss in the first round. As a result, he was kicked out of singles, fined $40,000 and forfeited the $31,570 in prize money he had already collected, as well as all of the event’s ATP ranking points.
Miro Bratoev, ATP’s Senior Vice President of Rules and Competition, has now determined that Zverev has engaged in “aggravated conduct under the Major Violations of Players section of the ATP Rules”.
Zverev, 24-year-old, was also fined $25,000 and an eight-week suspension for any ATP-sanctioned event.
However, the fine and suspension will be withheld provided that during a probationary period ending on February 22, 2023 [one year from the incident]the player does not commit any new code violation,” the ATP statement said.
Zverev has until March 11 to appeal the decision, but has already admitted his guilt and apologized publicly and privately to the referee in question, Alessandro Germani, according to a statement he posted on Instagram.
Zverev’s outburst at the Mexican Open in Acapulco has sparked outrage in the tennis world.
Qualifying is already underway in Indian Wells, with the main draw of the tournament on Wednesday.