Players vs Umpires: ATP Fines Expected After Controversial Start to Shanghai Masters

Several players could be facing ATP fines after a code violation-ridden start to the Shanghai Masters, which has seen umpires targeted in several isolated incidents.

Who Could Be Facing ATP Fines in Shanghai?

Frances Tiafoe

The centre of the player against umpire controversy undoubtedly comes in the shape of Frances Tiafoe, who will almost certainly be facing an ATP fine.

The American often cuts an animated figure on the court, but rarely this expletive. After losing a final set tiebreak to crash out in the Shanghai Masters third round on Tuesday, he took aim at the umpire.

After he was docked a first serve for a time violation at 5-5 in the tiebreaker, he would go on to lose the match two points later – a decision he immediately took issue with.

As he departed the court, Tiafoe launched a sweary tirade in the direction of umpire Jimmy Pinoargote, and could be heard saying: “Fuck you, man! Fuck you! Seriously, man. You fucked me out of the fucking match.”

the drama at the end of the tiafoe/safiullin match pic.twitter.com/HftfltXHew

— emily (@sportyandhot) October 8, 2024

The ATP rule book dictates that verbal abuse during a Masters 1000 tournament will result in a minimum fine of $60,000. Any prize money at Shanghai can also be taken away, while incidents can be escalated to the ATP Member Fines Committee for further investigation.

A spokesperson has said the heated exchange is still under investigation.

Tiafoe has since taken to social media to issue an apology, and shared the following message: “That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let my frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me and I’m extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation.

“That’s not acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans.”

Alexander Zverev

Just a few hours after Tiafoe’s tirade, Alexander Zverev launched a scathing attack on umpire Mohamed Lahyani, who ruled the ball bounced twice on his side of the court, much to the dismay of the world number three.

“Let me say something, you guys umpires are f***ing up the whole tournament this year. Completely,” Zverev shouted.

He continued by saying “the guy doing Tiafoe’s match completely messed up Tiafoe’s match. And now this.”

“Every grand slam final I play I lose because of you guys” 💀

Replay shows it was so obviously a double bounce. Even if the umpire was wrong, that’s certainly no way to behave so entitled, and then to act so shocked at the outcome of a warning for it 🙄

pic.twitter.com/FZx9dE0IFE

— Vansh (@vanshv2k) October 8, 2024

While perhaps not as expletive as Tiafoe’s outburst, his choice words could well be deemed to be verbal abuse.

The German is certainly no stranger to ATP fines, having been handed the maximum penalty of £30,000 at the Mexican Open in 2022, while also forfeiting prize money worth more than $30,000.

Stan Wawrinka

Veteran Stan Wawrinka was left visibly frustrated by his exit during his second round match, causing him to snap his racket over his knee.

Although not directly related to his outburst, the umpire controversy was also apparent here after Carlos Bernardes awarded the first point in the deciding set to Wawrinka, but then appeared to be distracted by a request he made for more electrolytes.