$40,000 Bad Precedent Set by Alexander Zverev Repeats Itself as 24YO ATP Star Gets Slapped With a Brutal Fine for His Unwarranted Rage at French Open

Tennis boasts of a lot of on-court drama as a sport. From on-court aggressive outbursts to bickering amongst players and chair umpires is quite an eventful sight to see. However, sometimes things get serious. Last year, Alexander Zverev got banned from the Mexican Open and had a whopping $40k fine after smashing his racquet on the umpire’s chair. Seems like history is repeating itself.

The No. 1 Swedish player Mikael Ymer has emulated the same incident from last year. He broke his racquet after showcasing his frustration at the umpire’s chair at the Lyon Open.

Mikael Ymer repeats history as he emulates the aggressive behavior of Alexander Zverev from the 2022 Mexican Open 

Last year Alexander Zverev, then World No. 3, got himself in a pickle after having an on-court outburst. During the doubles match, the German player smashed his racquet multiple times at the umpire’s chair. Apart from that, he even threw some profanities toward him.

ATP took strict action by abstaining him from further playing at the tournament. Moreover, he also received a whopping fine of $40k for his unsportsmanlike conduct.

This proved to be a strict lesson for tennis players. However, this year, Swede Mikael Ymer lost his temper in the heat of the moment. During his match against Arthur Fils at the Lyon Open, Ymer first went to the chair umpire to check the ball mark.

The player claimed the ball was out while he lost the point. However, the chair umpire seemed to disagree.

READ MORE: ‘She Seemed a Little Off’–64-Year-Old American Tennis Legend Raises Questions on ‘Irritable’ Iga Swiatek’s French Open Defense Despite Her Confident Start

Following that, Arthur Fils broke out, which then led to Ymer losing his temper. He went on and smashed his racquet at the umpire’s chair twice, eventually breaking it.

Unlike Zverev, Ymer explains the reason behind the outburst

ATP did not excuse him and implemented a $40k penalty on the Swedish player. Ymer, later on, explained his outburst and stated as per Well and Tribune, “With all due respect, I think it’s pretty clear from the video what caused it & why I reacted the way I reacted.” However, he also added, “Not justifying it at all of course.”

Last year Zverev personally apologized to the player and issued a heartfelt public apology. Eventually, the restriction was lifted, and the player was able to hit the court for further tournaments.

WATCH THIS STORY | ‘I Didn’t Have Any Money’–Serena Williams Once Revealed an Incident About How Venus Williams Helped Her Out

Do you think hitting the umpire’s chair crosses the line of on-court harmless outbursts? Let us know your views in the comments below.