“$36,000 fine and disqualification for word ‘moron’ it’s too much” – Andrey Rublev bemoans default, penalty handed in Dubai for shouting at official

At the recent Dubai Tennis Championships 2024, Andrey Rublev got into trouble for yelling at a line judge in his semifinal match against Alexander Bublik.

After being accused of hurling abuse at the line judge, Rublev was immediately defaulted from the match. Another official reported that on game point at 5-5 in the third set, Rublev became angry with a call on the baseline and called the line judge a ‘f**king moron’.

Despite his claims of innocence and denial of using a cuss word, the Russian was not believed. Nevertheless, he was allowed to keep his ranking points and prize money, although $36,400 was deducted.

Andrey Rublev recently stated that he believed the penalty he received was unjustified.

“A $36,000 fine and disqualification for the word ‘moron’… based on all my career experience, it’s too much. Although, if we take my behavior, then I am wrong and, of course, it is impermissible,”he told Sports Express. (translated)

Upon entering the tournament, he held the title of World No. 5 and maintained this ranking even after the Dubai tournament concluded and the rankings were updated.

The Russian also argued in favor of his perspective, stating that he had previously been involved in more unpleasant confrontations with officials but had not received the same level of punishment.

“If we analyze the situation as a whole, I think that this is too much. Because I’ve had much worse situations, and the punishments for them are much milder, warnings with a minimal fine,”he said.

Despite putting up a strong fight, Alexander Bublik, Rublev’s semifinal opponent, ultimately fell short and had to settle for the runner-up position as France’s Ugo Humbert emerged as the tournament champion.

Andrey Rublev Denies Making Controversial Statements, Claims Video Evidence Proves Innocence

During his interview with Sports Express, Andrey Rublev shared that the cameras had recorded his altercation with the line official, ultimately aiding his case at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships.

“I didn’t say half of the things that were written in the report. I was able to refute this because there was video evidence on which it is clear that I did not say the things that were attributed to me. Thanks to this, I got my rating points back,”the 26-year-old said.

Despite his best efforts, Andrey Rublev was unable to replicate his performance from the previous year at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Centre. In the 2023 tournament, he had reached the final but ultimately lost to fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev, settling for the runner-up title.

In Dubai last year, he emerged victorious against competitors such as Filip Krajinovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Alexander Zverev.