Russian tennis player Daria Kasatkina took to social networks to voice support for her compatriot Andrei Rublev after he faced disqualification following a dispute with the umpire during an ATP-500 Dubai match.
“So you can disqualify a player and strip him of points and prize money without even reviewing the video replay? What a joke. This is another instance that shows we need(VAR) in tennis and an electronic line judging system for all tournaments”, Kasatkina wrote.
The 26-year-old Rublev was disqualified in the semi-final against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, with the match scoreline reading 7:6 (7:4), 6:7 (5:7), 5:6 in favor of Bublik at the time of the incident.
Rublev questioned whether his ball had touched out of bounds and directed his ire at the line judge, calling the official a derogatory name. A Russian-speaking official translated the remark into English, which included profanity, informing the match referee of the offhand remark. The supervising body acted quickly, imposing disqualification.
In the aftermath, Rublev argued that he had not sworn and contended that the translation from the Russian-speaking official had been inaccurate, but the disqualification stood. The decision halted the match and sent Rublev away from the Dubai event with the outcome unresolved.
Previously, Rublev had already faced a substantial penalty related to the Dubai incident, with a financial deduction of $159,000. The episode sparked debate about officiating standards and the potential role of technology in tennis officiating.