Andrey Rublev was recently disqualified from the Dubai Championships for verbal abuse but is also set to face imminent consequences for his shocking on-court outburst.
Rublev infamously went after the line judge sitting adjacent to the tramlines and shouting at him in frustration. The second seed believed that opponent Alexander Bublik had fired his shot past the baseline, but it was called in.
The incident came at a critical moment in the match, just after Rublev spurned three chances to secure a double break at 4-2 in the third set. Instead, after that controversial moment, Bublik held serve and completed his turnaround to lead 6-5.
As the Russsian walked to his chair, a Russian-speaking line judge who heard Rublev's choice of words rushed towards the chair umpire to report Rublev's use of profane language. The umpire then called the tournament supervisor, after which the decision was made to disqualify Rublev from the match.
The incident will directly affect Rublev's ranking when published next week under the newly announced Saudi Arabian sponsor PIF. Rublev was supposed to defend 300 points this week for reaching last year's final.
But because he fell in the semifinal stage, he lost some points, which gives Alexander Zverev a route back into the Top 5 at his expense. In a curious twist of fate, Zverev will become a Top 5 player on the second anniversary of his default at the Mexican Open in Acapulco.
Zverev was disqualified from the event in 2022 after swearing at the umpire and then repeatedly banging the umpire's seat following the conclusion of his doubles match.
The German was still in contention to play in singles, but the ATP threw him out of the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident at the time drew a lot of reactions from pundits and fans, just like Rublev's segment in Dubai.
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