‘We Have to Take Action’ – Tennis Great Justin Henin Feels That Alexander Zverev Shouldn’t Be On ATP Courts

Belgian tennis great, Justine Henin feels that Alexander Zverev should not be on court today following his outrageous act in Acapulco. The German indulged in a serious argument with the chair umpire during his first-round defeat in the doubles draw at the Mexican Open. At the conclusion of the match, Zverev smashed his racquet into the umpire’s chair, nearly hitting the chair umpire.

Following the incident, the ATP handed Zverev a fine of $40,000 along with forfeiting prize money and ranking points earned in Acapulco. However, it wasn’t done yet. After closely looking into the matter, ATP further announced a conditional punishment.  As per the apex body of men’s tennis, the 24-year-old German is currently on a year’s probation and could face an eight-week ban along with an additional fine of $25,000 if he re-indulges in any sort of such act.

Following the outrage in Acapulco, Zverev featured at the Sunshine Double. He is currently playing at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 in Monaco.

Justin Henin expresses her views on the acts of Zverev, Medvedev, and Kyrgios

Seeing the incident, Justine Henin feels that it is time to take action. Talking to a media house, Henin said, “We have to take action.”

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Zverev‘s incident is just one case. The year 2022 has seen several outrageous on-court behaviors by a number of top players. Nick Kyrgios, Daniil Medvedev, and Jenson Brooksby are a few of the top players apart from Zvevev to have indulged in such acts since the start of this year.

Following the incidents, ATP recently issued a notice, stating that the players will have to undergo severe consequences if found indulging in acts of on-court misconduct. Recalling Kyrgios’s and Medvedev’s acts, Henin confessed that such acts need to stop. The former World No. 1 said, “We hope concrete action will be taken so that these extremes stop. You can’t yell at an umpire. Even if there is no intention, it is a problem to break a racquet that flies as far as a ball boy.”

Justine Henin on Alexander Zverev playing on the tour like any other player

Even though the 7-time Major champion expressed her disapproval of any such act by any player, her main focus remained on Zverev. Seeing Zverev playing normally on the tour without any restrictions, Henin asserted that he shouldn’t be on court today. Dissatisfied with ATP’s conditional restriction towards Zverev, Henin expressed herself admitting that such acts should be punished more severely.

Opening up about the matter, Zverev said, “You can be tired… but we can’t see the images of Alexander Zverev again. These are behaviors of intimidation, of rage, which we cannot see and which we must punish much more severely.” “He should not be on the court today,” she further added.

Nonetheless, putting his disappointments behind him, Zverev has been in scintillating form so far at the Monte Carlo Masters. He played a remarkable match against a resilient Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinal to overcome the young Italian 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) in over three hours on Court Rainier III. The German will lock horns against the defending champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals on Saturday.

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Do you echo Henin’s views? Or is justifiable for Zverev to keep competing on the ATP tour? Let us know in the comments.