Almost Hit The Referee, Alexander Zverev Fined Rp574 Million

Alexander Zverev (Instagram @alexzverev123)

JAKARTA – Alexander Zverev had to receive heavy punishment for hitting the referee's chair repeatedly in the ATP 500 Acapulco tournament. This act resulted in him being fined.

Quoting Antara, Friday, apart from being expelled from the tournament, the world ranked third player is also confirmed to have to pay a fine of US$40,000 or equivalent to Rp.574 million and face further review.

Zverev was fined $20,000 for verbal harassment, $20,000 for unsportsmanlike behavior.

In addition, he also lost more than 31,000 US dollars or around Rp. 445 million in prize money and all ranking points earned from singles and doubles action in the Abierto Mexicano tournament.

The men's tennis association (ATP) on Friday, February 25, said that the fine on Zverev was the maximum penalty for any offence. However, more sanctions could follow after that depending on the results of further review of the incident.

It's like what happened to Nick Kyrgios in 2019. After an initial fine of 113,000 dollars, the Australian was also subject to a 16-week ban and an additional $25,000 fine by the ATP following an internal investigation.

Zverev acted on last Tuesday. After losing in the doubles the German came close to referee Alessandro Germani's chair and nearly hit the referee's leg as he swung his racket before making his way to his seat at the side of the court.

The 2020 US Open runner-up approached the chair for the second time and once again hit the referee's chair while shouting expletives.

Just before the end of the match, Germani gave Zverev a foul code for shouting and swearing in protest at the disallowed stroke. Realizing he had made a mistake the 24-year-old, who is the defending champion in singles, has apologized for his behavior.