One of the rising stars of modern tennis, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov shocked the tennis fraternity with his act on Sunday. In a Canada-Britain Davis Cup tie, at the heat of the moment, the Canadian hit the ball straight at umpire Arnaud Gabas. The Sportsrush takes a look at the 5 ugliest outbursts against tennis officials.
Denis Shapovalov looked petrified after the incident. After losing serve in the third set of the deciding match, Shopalov hit the ball into the crowd out of the disgust. However, things went awry as the ball struck the chair umpire in the left eye, needing him to gain medical aid. The youngster stated that he was ‘ashamed’ and was fined $7,000 too.
1.John McEnroe
In addition to his amazing tennis exploits, legend John McEnroe was well known for his outbursts. Among the numerous ones he had, one that catches the eye is during a 1981 Wimbledon match against Tom Gullikson. McEnroe disagreed with chair umpire Edward james over a contentious call at a crucial juncture of the match.
In the heat of the moment, McEnroe coined the famous phrase “You can’t be serious man!” He also frantically claimed “That ball was on the line. Chalk flew up! How can you possibly call that out? He would later call James the “absolute pits of the world.” Following his actions, McEnroe was awarded a double penalty point against him.
2.Serena Williams
In a tense match at the 2009 U.S. Open semifinals, Serena Williams absolutely snapped at a lineswoman. Battling a set down and 4-5 down in the second set, Serena double-faulted through a foot fault. However, this drove Serena crazy and she aggressively pointed towards the lineswoman unleashing a barrage of threats.
The tirade included “I swear to God, I’m f—— going to take this f—— ball and shove it down your f—— throat, you hear that? I swear to God.” The lineswoman seemed perplexed and reported the incident to the umpire. Thereafter, with consultation with the referee, she was disqualified and Kim Clijsters won the match and reached the final.
3.Martina Hingis
At the 1999 French Open, it was the reigning queen Steffi Graf against the promising upstart Martina Hingis. Barely 18 years old at that time, Hingis was very close to pulling off one of the greatest upsets in tennis history. However, that is when all hell broke loose following a ball called out by the chair umpire.
Also Read : Top Five Bromances in Tennis Today!
Hingis remained adamant, argued with the umpire and even went to Steffi Graf’s end of the court to check the mark. This drew heavy jeers from the crowd and a point penalty from the umpire for her unprofessional conduct. Later, the teenager lost her composure and the match. She left the court in tears and hence, is one of the 5 ugliest outbursts!
4.Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios now has the dubious distinction of being one of the worst characters in modern tennis. Multiple flare-ups with officials, heated exchanges with opponents (most notably, against Stansias Wawrinka) and several suspensions and fines! Hence, all of these have taken a course of normalcy with the Australian.
In the Wimbledon 2015, things fell apart when Nick Kyrgios had a fiery exchange with umpire Mohammed Layhani. Following a tough line call, Kyrgios threatened to stop playing until a tournament official was summoned for clarification. The Court mic found him saying the words ‘dirty scum’ at the umpire, which he later went on to deny.
5.David Nalbandian
In this list of the 5 ugliest outbursts against tennis officials, David Nalbandian finds a special mention. In the finals of the Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club in England, Nalbandian was put under pressure in the second set by Marin Cilic. Unhappy with his shot, Nalbandian kicked on-court advertising board next to a line-judge’s chair.
This advertisement board ricocheted into the official’s shin, gushing out blood. The Argentine was immediately disqualified, much to the chagrin of the crowd in attendance. He had to forfeit his prize money of £36,114 and 150 ranking points due to this appalling behavior. Definitely one of the 5 ugliest outbursts!
