DailyExpertNews
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Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer was disqualified from the Lyon Open on Wednesday after hitting the underside of the referee’s chair with his racket.
The incident occurred after Ymer begged umpire Rogerio Santos to check a ball mark on the clay court during his round of 16 game against France’s Arthur Fils.
Santos said he had seen the ball bounce on the line and would therefore not check for a mark on the pitch – as umpires often do on clay – although Ymer was adamant that the ball was out.
“I’ve never seen a referee say, ‘I’m not going down to check the marker.’ It won’t happen Why don’t you check the mark I give you, Ymer said to Santos.
Fils then broke Ymer’s serve for the next point to go ahead 6-5 before the world number 53 slammed his racquet into the umpire’s chair twice, knocking the racquet head close to the center on his second swing. handle broke.
A tournament official then told Ymer that he had been disqualified. The 24-year-old went to congratulate Fils, who will face top seed Félix Auger Aliassime in the next round.
A similar incident involving German player Alexander Zverev occurred at the Mexican Open last year.
Zverev was given an eight-week suspended suspension and fined $25,000 for repeatedly hitting the umpire’s chair with his racket during a first-round doubles match.
At the time of the incident, he was ejected from the singles tournament, fined $40,000, and required to forfeit the $31,570 in prize money he had already accumulated, as well as all ATP Rankings points from the event.
DailyExpertNews has contacted the ATP Tour regarding Ymer’s disqualification from the Lyon Open.