Tennis player fined $7000 for hitting umpire

London – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov has been fined for hitting the umpire with the ball during his country’s Davis Cup tie against Great Britain, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Monday.

Shapovalov, 17, was disqualified after striking chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the eye with the ball in Ottawa on Sunday, gifting singles opponent Kyle Edmund a victory that gave Britain a 3-2 win.

The ITF fined Shapovalov $7 000, rather than the maximum $10 000, after accepting he had not intentionally struck Gabas after smacking a ball off the court in frustration at losing a point.

In a statement published on his Twitter account before the fine was announced, Shapovalov wrote: “There is no excuse for this behaviour and I take full responsibility for my action.

“I’m very sorry to Mr Gabas, to whom I apologised in person. Very sorry for letting my Davis Cup team-mates down and for letting my country down.

“I apologise to all the tennis fans, to my supporters and my sponsors. I feel ashamed of my unprofessional behaviour and will accept any consequences as a result of my action.”

Israel-born Shapovalov was trailing Edmund 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 in the decisive World Group first-round tie when the incident happened.

Gabas was taken to hospital in Ottawa as a precaution after being left with bruising and swelling around his left eye, but no serious damage was found.

Britain will play France in the quarter-finals in April.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal said he will join Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in preparing for the grass court Grand Slam at Queen’s in June.

Nadal had to pull out of the grass event last year due to a wrist injury but won the title back in 2008, before going on to dethrone Roger Federer at Wimbledon.

“I am very happy to be coming back to Queen’s in June. Winning the title in 2008 is a great memory for me and it is the best way for me to be ready for Wimbledon,” said Nadal.

The 30-year-old Spaniard had an injury-plagued 2016 but was almost back to his best last month as he reached the Australian Open final, before losing a five-set thriller to Federer.—Sport24.