Alexander Zverev has been placed on one-year probation by the Association of Tennis Professionals following a violent outburst last month at the Mexican Open, during which he repeatedly attacked the chair umpire’s stand.
If Zverev is fined for unsportsmanlike conduct or for “verbal or physical abuse of an official, opponent, spectator, or any other person while on-court or on-site,” he will be suspended from ATP events for eight weeks and fined an additional $25,000, the governing body for men’s tennis announced Monday night.
Probationary status expires on Feb. 22, 2023, one year after the incident occurred.
In the event that Zverev, who won a gold medal for Germany at the Tokyo Olympic Games and is currently ranked No. 3 in the world in men’s singles, meets the ATP’s stated conditions, the fines will be officially removed. An appeal deadline of Friday for Zverev, who finished second at the US Open in 2020, has been set by ATP senior vice president of rules and competition, Miro Bratoev.
Zverev made his first appearance since the incident, winning two singles matches in Germany’s Davis Cup victory over Brazil in Rio de Janeiro this weekend.
Zverev was instantly ejected from the Acapulco singles tournament last month, forfeiting more over $30,000 in prize money and the ranking points he had won during the tournament. The ATP noted at the time that he had been fined $20,000 for each violation of verbal abuse and unsportsmanlike behaviour, the maximum on-site penalty for each.
Zverev had got a code penalty for ranting and cursing when he questioned the verdict of a called-in shot just moments before his outburst, setting up a match point for Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara. After the round-of-16 loss, he and Marcelo Melo shook hands with their opponents, and on his way to the sideline, Zverev punched the umpire’s chair three times, nearly hitting Alessandro Germani’s right leg and foot. Zverev moved away at first, then returned as Germani began to descend and take another hit while shouting and cursing at the umpire.
The audience booed, and Zverev handed over his broken racket to a child in the audience. He eventually expressed regret for his actions.
“It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles match yesterday,” he wrote in an Instagram story. “I have privately apologized to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable and I am only disappointed in myself. It just should not have happened and there is no excuse. I would also like to apologize to my fans, the tournament and the sport that I love.
“As you know, I leave everything on the court. Yesterday, I left too much. I am going to take the coming days to reflect on my actions and how I can ensure that it will not happen again. I am sorry for letting you down.”
Last November, Zverev was the subject of an ATP investigation when his ex-girlfriend, Olga Sharypova, accused him of domestic abuse. He has vehemently disputed the allegations.
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