Tennis bullies are in the pillory: leniency in punishment causes criticism

Updated on 03/25/2022 at 12:56 p.m

• First Alexander Zverev, then Nick Kyrgios, now Jenson Brooksby: The tennis court is increasingly as rowdy as the backyard.
• A former world-class player sees referees and ball children and danger and calls for action by the ATP.
• Meanwhile, Brooksby has a guilty conscience.

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Jenson Brooksby ruefully went to the ball boy and apologized. He scared the man with a dangerous racket throw and rekindled a discussion that has been smoldering since Alexander Zverev’s freak out in Acapulco: Do ​​the ruthless tennis stars get away with their missteps too easily? Recently, the incidents have increased.

Zverev first shook his head with his wild attack on the referee’s chair in February. At the tournament in Acapulco a month ago, after a defeat in doubles, Zverev hit his racket several times against the referee’s chair, on which the referee was still sitting. He was disqualified and given an eight-week suspended sentence in addition to a fine.

Then last week, Nick Kyrgios forced a ball boy to take cover. After losing to Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells, Kyrgios threw his racket on the ground so hard that it flew across the field in a high arc. A ball boy ducked away, afraid of getting hit. Kyrgios denied any intention, the racquet had unfortunately jumped away after impact

Well Brooksby, who easily hit a ball boy with a racquet throw at the Masters in Miami. The 21-year-old only received a point penalty for his offense in the 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 first-round win over Argentinian Federico Coria.

Rennae Stubbs appeals to the ATP to take action against tennis bullies

“Ball kids almost get their heads or legs cut off. Referees shy away from swinging bats coming at them,” Rennae Stubbs wrote on Twitter. The former world number one in doubles from Australia asked the ATP to act.

Jenson Brooksby apologizes and promises to get better

Brooksby posted a photo of himself with the ball boy after the match and apologized – like the other “sinners” before. “I will learn from this and continue to grow on and off the pitch,” he wrote on Instagram. When the score was 4-1 in the third set, he had thrown his racquet away, it hit the hard court twice and then touched the leg and foot of the ball boy, who was startled and ducked for cover.

His opponent Coria had little understanding for the action. “If you attack someone on the field, that should mean a direct disqualification,” said the 30-year-old, who discussed the scene with the referee: “If I do that or any Latino, then we won’t play for three months. “

Abandonment of the game only if the ball child is injured

In the current case, only a consequence of an injury would have led to the immediate end of the game, as in the case of Novak Djokovic, who hit a linesman with a ball at the US Open in 2020. Zverev was disqualified in Acapulco, but was allowed to compete again in the next tournament with a fine and an eight-week suspended ban. For many experts, the bar was set too low with the punishment. (SID/dpa/hau)