A bad look for the USTA in a sexual abuse lawsuit. Andrey Rublev’s controversial default sparks calls for video review. Saudi Arabia has sealed a lucrative deal with the ATP.
USTA tries to persuade judge to prohibit key evidence in sexual abuse lawsuit: As a lawsuit from a young player who was found to have been sexually assaulted while training at the United States Tennis Association’s Florida headquarters steams toward a likely trial this spring, the organization is making a last-ditch attempt to convince the judge to prohibit key evidence and testimony at the heart of the player’s case. The efforts include trying to keep Pam Shriver off the witness stand. Full Story: The Athletic
Rublev defaulted for screaming at line judge: Andrey Rublev was defaulted from the Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals for unsportsmanlike conduct on Friday after yelling at a line judge. Rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire after a Russian-speaking official appeared to accuse him of using an obscenity while he screamed at the line judge. Full Story: Reuters
Does tennis need VAR? After Andrey Rublev’s controversial default in Dubai, players say it’s overdue: According to the tournament referee, the No. 2 seed was defaulted for “verbal abuse”—an accusation the player has emphatically denied. So why not rewind the tape? Full Story: Tennis
Saudi Arabia’s ATP 5-year sponsorship deal: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the men’s professional tennis tour have agreed to a five-year partnership that includes naming rights for the ATP rankings, the latest move by the kingdom into that sport and others. Full Story: AP
Czech tennis boss in detention amid fraud investigation: The head of the Czech tennis federation has been detained as part of a fraud investigation into misuse of state funds that saw its headquarters raided by police this week. Full Story: ESPN
Tennis-Players Association steps up welfare commitment with free healthcare service: All tennis professionals will have round-the-clock access to free medical expertise under a programme launched this week by the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) which aims to level the playing field in healthcare. Full Story: Reuters
USTA reports surge in tennis participation led by growth in ethnic diversity: Tennis participation in the U.S. increased for the third straight year in 2022, and much of that growth was driven by new players from diverse communities. Full Story: Tennis
Billie Jean King Cup Limited Names CEO, COO: Billie Jean King Cup Limited (BJKCL) has announced the appointment of Kerstin Lutz as Chief Executive Officer and Kris Dent as Chief Operating Officer. Lutz and Dent will lead the day-to-day operations of BJKCL, which focuses on the commercial, broadcast and fan growth of the Billie Jean King Cup, the women’s World Cup of Tennis. Full Story: Racquet Industry Research
Life Time fitness names legend Andre Agassi to tennis, pickleball role: Life Time fitness has named tennis legend Andre Agassi to a tennis and pickleball role meant to foster the continued growth of racket sports. Agassi’s role will focus on making racket sports accessible to everyone across skill levels or age groups, enhancing programming and community building. Full Story: The Star Tribune
The Death of the One-Handed Backhand May Be Premature: one-hander should be preserved, for the betterment of tennis, and really, the betterment of Earth. It’s one of those sports principles that feels obvious and essential. Football should be played on real grass, baseball is best during the day, no one will ever call a game better than Vin Scully, and pro tennis must always keep a few good one-handed backhands around because they’re devastatingly cool. Full Story: The Wall Street Journal
This Week in Professional Tennis
| Date | Tournament | Tour/Level | Location |
| 3/6-17 | BNP Paribas Open | ATP 1000 | Indian Wells, CA |
There is no excusing Rublev’s aggressive outburst ‘in the face’ of the line umpire at Dubai.
It reminded me of the Serena Williams outburst when she threatened to put a ball down the line umpires throat and then protested she had not threatened to kill her! Famously the crowd responded ‘Oh yes you did’!
Quite how the ATP can reinstate the penalties which are supposed to accompany a default shows weakness and complicity with what Rublev did. Other players will not be as deterred now from doing the same.
An Official should not be subjected to this. They do the job for the love of the sport and compensation they receive is not sufficient to have to put up with this. Remember, they are not allowed to respond – they just have to take it. The assertion Rublev makes that he did not curse is beside the point, if an official said he heard it, that’s all that matters. The Official does not have an axe to grind – they doesn’t want a player to be defaulted. If Rublev had not have acted in this manner, there would not have been anything to report. The problem was caused entirely by Rublev and he should own it.
Rublev’s behavior was obviously not good. But this is not close to what Serena did. Rublev yelled, probably swore(though he denies it and I don’t speak Russian) for a few seconds and that was it. What Serena did was a whole catastrophe. Many players have swore before and usually just get a warning. I’m surprised and confused why he was defaulted. This seems very extreme to me to be defaulted like this.
I’m not sure what you mean when you say the ATP is showing weakness. They defaulted him for swearing just like that. He didn’t threaten anyone or similar. The ATP rushed to judgment way too quickly. Rublev was still fined $36k. This is not chump change except for the very top players plus all the bad publicity that goes with it. I doubt players are going to feel like they can act like this in the future. Rublev is in the wrong, but we need to hold umpires/linesman accountable too. It was a bad missed call. Not to condone this type of behavior or say it’s acceptable, but coaches/players yell at officials like this constantly in other sports. And they do and should get penalized accordingly, but his behavior didn’t merit an automatic default. Tennis needs to toughen up a bit.