March 5: Andrey Rublev, the world number five tennis player, has won his appeal against losing his ranking points and prize money after being disqualified from the Dubai Tennis Championships last week. The ATP has decided to reinstate his earnings and points, saying that the default penalty was “disproportionate” in his case.
Rublev was defaulted from his semifinal match against Alexander Bublik for unsportsmanlike conduct. He screamed in the face of a line judge following a disputed call in the third set. A Russian-speaking official told the ATP supervisor that Rublev had sworn at the line judge in Russian.
Rublev denied the accusation and claimed that he was not even talking in Russian. He appealed the decision of the chair umpire, who awarded the win to Bublik at 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-5. Bublik went on to lose the final to France’s Ugo Humbert.
ATP Reinstates Points and Prize Money of Andrew Rublev
The ATP’s appeals committee reviewed the testimonies from the player, officials, and the available video and audio materials. They concluded that Rublev should only forfeit the match, but not his rankings points and prize money for the entire tournament.
Rublev’s fine of $36,400 for the code violation remains in place, but he will keep his 200 ranking points and $157,755 prize money. This will allow him to retain his No. 5 spot on the ATP Tour.
Andrew Rublev has been in a good form this season, winning 14 matches so far. He won the Hong Kong Open in January and reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in February. He is expected to play in the Miami Open later this month.
