Andrey Rublev promises to ‘be better’ after successfully appealing Dubai disqualification

Rublev was defaulted after he was accused of swearing at a line judge

Andrey Rublev will retain the ranking points and prize money earned at the Dubai Tennis Championships, despite getting defaulted from the tournament for unsportsmanlike conduct, after an appeal to the ATP.

Rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire after a Russian-speaking official appeared to accuse him of using an obscenity, while he yelled at the line judge during his semi-final with Alexander Bublik on Friday.

“The appeals committee concluded that, beyond forfeiting the match, customary penalties associated with a default, namely loss of rankings points and prize money for the entire tournament, would be disproportionate in this case,” the ATP said in a statement on Monday.

In a post on social media, Rublev thanked the appeal committee for its decision and added that he wants the tour to consider altering the rule that led to his disqualification.

“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,” Rublev’s statement reads.

It ends: “I promise I will learn from this and will try to be a better player and better person.

Rublev’s fine of $36,400 for the code violation remains in place after the appeal, which took into consideration testimonies from players and officials and a review of video and audio material

Rublev shouted in the face of a line judge (Getty Images)

A player losing in the semifinals in Dubai collected $157,755 and 200 rankings points

After the point in question, Rublev pointed to the baseline, walked to the line judge, leaned over and shouted. ATP supervisor Roland Herfel went on court, accompanied by a Russian speaker who said Rublev swore in Russian. Rublev said he was speaking in English and did not use profane language

Bublik lead 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-5 at the time, and was awarded the win despite saying that he was happy to continue, and went on to lose the final against France’s Ugo Humbert.

Agencies