Andrey Rublev will retain the ranking points and prize money he earned at the Dubai Tennis Championships, despite being defaulted from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct, after an appeal to the ATP.
Rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire after a Russian-speaking official appeared to accuse him of using an obscenity while he yelled at the line judge during his semi-final with Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik on Friday.
“The appeals committee concluded that, beyond forfeiting the match, customary penalties associated with a default — namely loss of rankings points and prize money for the entire tournament — would be disproportionate in this case,” the ATP said in a statement on Monday.
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Bublik led 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-5 at the time, and was awarded the win despite saying he was happy to continue.
He went on to lose the final against France’s Ugo Humbert.
Rublev’s fine of $US36,400 for the code violation remains in place after the Russian’s appeal, which took into consideration testimonies from players and officials, and a review of video and audio material.
The punishment will be deducted from his $US158,000 prize money for reaching the final four.
The ATP’s decision returns 180 points to his ranking.
The 26-year-old issued a statement thanking the appeals committee for “changing course” and conceding he had room to grow.
“I hope that in the future, the ATP will take a closer look at this rule and make changes to it so that an official can’t force a match outcome without having clear evidence and not letting the player have a video review,” Rublev said.
“While I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish my semi-final in Dubai, I am grateful for all the support I had from you (fans) the last two days.
“Thank you to everyone supporting me, I promise I will learn from this and will try to be a better player and better person.”
