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Andrey Rublev's recent statement regarding his controversial disqualification from the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships has left tennis fans disappointed.
Rublev and Alexander Bublik's semifinal clash at the ATP 500 event took a controversial turn in the third set after a disputed line call gave Bublik a 6-5 lead in the set. Unhappy with the decision, Rublev confronted the line judge over his call and escalated to screaming directly in his face.
The World No. 5 was immediately disqualified from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct after another official reported that he had sworn at the line judge in Russian. He was also set to lose all the prize money and ranking points he had accumulated during the tournament.
However, Andrey Rublev, who maintained that he hadn't used any profanity, was successful with his appeal, as his ranking points and prize money were reinstated, albeit with a fine of $36,400 for his actions.
The Russian broke his silence on the controversy and expressed gratitude to the appeals committee for their decision. He also called for the ATP to consider implementing a video review option for players to prevent officials from altering the outcome of a match with contentious calls.
"I want to thank the appeal committee for approving my appeal and changing course on the ATPs initial decision of disqualifying me from the Dubai semifinal and taking away the rankings points and prize money I earned last week," Andrey Rublev posted on X.
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," he added.
The World No. 5 conveyed his appreciation for all the support he received and vowed to learn from the incident to become a better player in the future.
"While I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to finish my semifinal in Dubai, I am grateful for all the support I had from you the last two days, I received a lot of messages," he stated.
"Thank you to everyone supporting me, I promise I will learn from this and will try to be a better player and better person," Andrey Rublev concluded.
Andrey Rublev's statement did not sit well with fans, though, with many expressing their displeasure at the Russian's failure to apologize to the line judge he had yelled at.
"Not even a single word of remorse for the official he screamed at or for the kids he supposedly plays for. The message to every ATP player after this incident is "you can scream at officials all you want, just don't say any bad words, but even if you do, you'll get your points and prize money," a fan posted.
"This is genuinely disgusting. he didnt even try to apologize he just made himslef a victim. what about the guy who was just doing his job while he decided to scream in his face?" another wrote.
Fans continued to share their disappointment regarding the World No. 5's seeming reluctance to take responsibility for his actions.
"Damn. He’s still obsessing over the semantics of what exactly was said and not the fact he was stepping aggressively into a linesman’s face (who is stuck in that chair) and screaming. Disappointing," one fan said.
"Disappointed with your attitude. No apology for behaviour towards the umpire. It's not your 1st aggresive attack on the court. Still no conclusions. You are starting to lose the image of a kind person," another shared.
Here are a few more reactions from fans across Reddit and X:
Andrey Rublev could face Andy Murray in Indian Wells 1R
Andrey Rublev will be in action at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters next, commencing his pursuit of his second Masters 1000 title. The Russian will enter the tournament as the fifth seed, following a first-round bye.
The 26-year-old could face Andy Murray in a blockbuster second-round clash, should the Brit emerge victorious against a qualifier in his opener.
Andrey Rublev is set to face formidable competition on his path to the title, with the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Frances Tiafoe, and Jiri Lehecka in his quarter. If the Russian reaches the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 event, he could square off against reigning Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner for a place in the semifinals.
