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. [Source: Reuters]
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. [Source: Reuters]
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. [Source: Reuters]
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. [Source: Reuters]
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. [Source: Reuters]