Stefanos Tsitsipas has found himself on the receiving end of criticism for supposedly misunderstanding an ATP rule and thus forcing himself to participate in the 2023 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.Struggling with a shoulder injury earlier this month, Tsitsipas suffered a second-round defeat at Indian Wells. After beating Cristian Garin to reach the fourth round of the 2023 Miami Open on Monday (March 27), the World No. 3 explained his decision to play in the desert despite being injured.Speaking on the Tennis Channel, Tsitsipas quoted a "frustrating" ATP rule, saying:"There is a rule in place with the ATP that states that if you don't play at a Masters 1000, they take away your best Masters 1000 performance of last year and you can't add points to that, which is pretty bad. I couldn't pull out, I had to play. Also, you get penalized and fined on top of that, which is frustrating."Tsitsipas also appealed to the ATP to talk to players and reconsider the rules.However, some fans accused the Greek star of playing victim and suggested that he was wrong about the rule. They claimed there was no penalty in case of a legitimate injury, assuming the player fulfilled the requirements for the promotional activities."Wild that Tsitsipas, who's been at the top of the sport for years, can be *so wrong* about rules that affect his scheduling and potentially aggravating an injury as a result," a fan tweeted.Erik Jonsson 🇺🇦@erktennisWild that Tsitsipas, who's been at the top of the sport for years, can be *so wrong* about rules that affect his scheduling and potentially aggravating an injury as a result. twitter.com/damiankust/sta…Damian Kust@damiankust@vanshv2k Sorry, commenting again because I didn't phrase it right. Section 9.03 A. Commitment Players, especially the last sentence - you simply get a 0 for that event if you don't play. Tsitsipas is miles off.171@vanshv2k Sorry, commenting again because I didn't phrase it right. Section 9.03 A. Commitment Players, especially the last sentence - you simply get a 0 for that event if you don't play. Tsitsipas is miles off. https://t.co/TF1vsUAlQzWild that Tsitsipas, who's been at the top of the sport for years, can be *so wrong* about rules that affect his scheduling and potentially aggravating an injury as a result. twitter.com/damiankust/sta…"This isn’t even a rule. But leave it to Tsitsipas to spew some BS to make him look like a victim," another user wrote.dylon@dylonthoms@TheTennisLetter This isn’t even a rule. But leave it to Tsitsipas to spew some BS to make him look like a victim.7@TheTennisLetter This isn’t even a rule. But leave it to Tsitsipas to spew some BS to make him look like a victim."I am pretty sure this isn't a rule as it would've been quite a drama by rankings watchers (like me) if they had that rule — ironically I know ALL players can now available of the 3 exempts rule only "veteran" players usually have that been doing in a while, meaning playing LESS," another tweet read.Zion John Z. Rosal@zjrosal@TheTennisLetter I am pretty sure this isn't a rule as it would've been quite a drama by rankings watchers (like me) if they had that rule — ironically I know ALL players can now available of the 3 exempts rule only "veteran" players usually have that been doing in a while, meaning playing LESS.18@TheTennisLetter I am pretty sure this isn't a rule as it would've been quite a drama by rankings watchers (like me) if they had that rule — ironically I know ALL players can now available of the 3 exempts rule only "veteran" players usually have that been doing in a while, meaning playing LESS.Here are some more fan reactions:emily@andreyrublevsstef... thats not right.... someone tell him the truth twitter.com/thetennislette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterStefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury”314Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury” https://t.co/bGb8OagWHPstef... thats not right.... someone tell him the truth twitter.com/thetennislette…chule is a World Cup winner@frenchopen2004I don't want to tennisplain to a professional tennis player but i dotn think what stef is saying is right. you can skip tournaments if you are injured and you will get zero points points the tournament you skipped twitter.com/TheTennisLette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterStefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury”714Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury” https://t.co/bGb8OagWHPI don't want to tennisplain to a professional tennis player but i dotn think what stef is saying is right. you can skip tournaments if you are injured and you will get zero points points the tournament you skipped twitter.com/TheTennisLette…mimi🧍🏻‍♀️| rafa’s comeback era@rafastefbaesi’m not even gonna criticise stef for getting the rules wrong because my lazy ass wouldn’t be reading those terms and conditions either 🤣 twitter.com/thetennislette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterStefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury”1014Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury” https://t.co/bGb8OagWHPi’m not even gonna criticise stef for getting the rules wrong because my lazy ass wouldn’t be reading those terms and conditions either 🤣 twitter.com/thetennislette…Damian Kust@damiankust@vanshv2k Sorry, commenting again because I didn't phrase it right. Section 9.03 A. Commitment Players, especially the last sentence - you simply get a 0 for that event if you don't play. Tsitsipas is miles off.213@vanshv2k Sorry, commenting again because I didn't phrase it right. Section 9.03 A. Commitment Players, especially the last sentence - you simply get a 0 for that event if you don't play. Tsitsipas is miles off. https://t.co/TF1vsUAlQzGerda Pardiac@GerdaPardiac@damiankust @vanshv2k I don't know. He has Philippoussis in team, don't think both would have been that off. He probably meant M1000 missing points can't be replaced by non mandatory M1000 which is Monte Carlo even if he plays mandatory amount of M1000 after skipping one.@damiankust @vanshv2k I don't know. He has Philippoussis in team, don't think both would have been that off. He probably meant M1000 missing points can't be replaced by non mandatory M1000 which is Monte Carlo even if he plays mandatory amount of M1000 after skipping one.BB Fanatic || standingwitholya&chiara@bblegend21someone needs to tell stef you won’t get fined if you have a legitimate injury…. twitter.com/thetennislette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterStefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury”814Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury” https://t.co/bGb8OagWHPsomeone needs to tell stef you won’t get fined if you have a legitimate injury…. twitter.com/thetennislette…Oleg S.@AnnaK_4ever“if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year”No, the rule is much more nuanced and player-friendly than that. twitter.com/TheTennisLette…The Tennis Letter@TheTennisLetterStefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury”587Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing Indian wells: “There’s an ATP rule if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year & you can’t add points. I had to play. You also get fined.. it’s frustrating to have to think about this on top of your injury” https://t.co/bGb8OagWHP“if you don’t play in a Masters 1000, they take away your best 1000 result of last year”No, the rule is much more nuanced and player-friendly than that. twitter.com/TheTennisLette… https://t.co/cfCe5MJNH4Stefanos Tsitsipas to face Karen Khachanov in Miami Open 2023 R4Karen Khachanov (L) and Stefanos TsitsipasAfter receiving a bye in the first round and a walkover in the second, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Chile's Cristian Garin 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the third round of the 2023 Miami Open.The 24-year-old will next face 16th-ranked Karen Khachanov of Russia for a spot in the quarterfinals. Tsitspas has won all six of his clashes against Khachanov so far, with the latest win coming in the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open.The 14th-seed Russian reached the fourth round after beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Jiri Lehecka.