"Name another sport that would not protect its officials who have been physically attacked and intimidated by a competitor" - Pam Shriver on Alexander Zverev's suspended ban

Former tennis player Pam Shriver has criticized the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for giving Alexander Zverev a suspended ban for his outburst at the Mexican Open last month. The respected analyst questioned whether any other sport would put a player on probation instead of suspending them for attacking and intimidating an official.

The World No. 3 was disqualified from the ATP 500 event in Acapulco last month for his conduct during his opening-round doubles loss alongside Marcelo Melo. Zverev repeatedly hit umpire Alessandro Germani's chair with his racket and verbally abused the official after disagreeing with a line call in the match tie-break.

He had to forfeit his prize money ($31,000) and ranking points for both singles and doubles. He was also given a $40,000 fine.

The ATP announced on Tuesday that the 24-year-old will not be banned from any tournaments but will be put on probation for one year. If he receives any code violations for "unsportsmanlike conduct" or "verbal or physical abuse" during this period, he will be immediately suspended from all ATP events for eight weeks. The German was also fined an additional $25,000.

In a Twitter post, Shriver, a 21-time women's doubles Grand Slam champion, argued the punishment failed to protect tennis officials.

"Name another sport that would not protect its officials who have been physically attacked and intimidated by a competitor, by serving a probation vs a suspension? What am I missing?," asked Shriver.

Alexander Zverev will compete at the Indian Wells Masters

Alexander Zverev at the 2021 Indian Wells Masters

With the ATP announcing Alexander Zverev will not be banned from playing, he has been cleared to compete at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters. He achieved his best result at the event in the Californian desert last year, when he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Taylor Fritz.

The German will likely be seeded second behind World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which begins on 10 March. World No. 2 Novak Djokovic is expected to miss the tournament due to vaccine mandates to enter the United States. The 34-year-old is, however, yet to announce his withdrawal from the event.

Zverev has won five Masters 1000 titles: Rome and Montreal in 2017; Madrid in 2018; Madrid and Cincinnati in 2021.