'I lost my mind': Shocking moment Andrey Rublev blasts ball in rage, almost hits court-sweeper at French Open
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Updated 24/05/2022 at 16:39 GMT
Yet another ATP Tour star let his anger get the better of him at the French Open on Tuesday as Andrey Rublev lashed out at a ball which struck his chair and flew up, narrowly missing the head of a nearby court-sweeper who knocked off his cap in shock at the incident. Rublev received a code violation as a result of the dangerous reaction at Roland-Garros.
Watch shocking moment Rublev strikes ball into chair, almost hits court-sweeper
Andrey Rublev let his frustration boil over as he whacked a ball in anger and narrowly avoided striking a court-sweeper in a French Open tantrum.
The seventh seed was taking on Kwon Soon-woo out on Court 14 in Paris and he lost the plot after losing the opening tie-break in the first-round match on the red dirt.
After confronting the umpire, Rublev lashed out at a ball from his pocket with it flying very hard into his own chair and ricocheting back onto the court at pace.
Fortunately for the 24-year-old, the ball flew just past the head of a nearby court-sweeper, who was so taken aback by the moment that his cap fell off as he gesticulated in surprise.
The shock and outrage from the fans were made very clear as Rublev received a chorus of boos, and he reacted even more angrily as he hurled a bottle on the floor, causing it to crack and spill water onto the court.
He immediately received a code violation and a warning for the incident and was heckled by the fans for his conduct as he proceeded to rant at the umpire.
Speaking about the incident in his post-match press conference, Rublev said: "In the first set I was quite tired and I had a lot of emotion inside of me.
"I tried to really control it and understand the situation, be positive and I was able to do it because there were so many break points, some stupid mistakes and I was able [for the most part] to be quiet and [remain] positive, basically until the end of the first set.
"Then yes, I lost my mind for a moment, and of course, I’m regretful for what I did. It is unacceptable to hit the ball the way I [did]. It [may have been] better if I had hit the racquet because the ball can effect someone, and that is when the problem comes.
"It is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again.”
It is the latest incident involving an ATP Tour player in recent months with there having been a spate of violent moments on the court - most notably, Alexander Zverev striking an umpire's chair in a wild attack in Acapulco.
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Watch the shocking moment Zverev attacks umpire’s chair with racquet
Zverev received an eight-week suspended ban and a £19,000 fine for attacking the umpire's chair with his racquet at the Mexican Open - a punishment that was largely deemed to be extremely lenient.
There was also surprise that Nick Kyrgios was not punished for very nearly injuring a ball boy when he smashed his racquet on the court after losing to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells.
In addition, Jenson Brooksby somehow avoided a default at the Miami Open when he flung his racquet down in anger and it hit a ball boy on the foot; apparently only getting a point penalty as he hadn't caused an injury.
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Kyrgios argues with umpire, smashes racquet, gets game penalty
Zverev striking the umpire's chair in frustration was one of the more shocking tennis incidents in recent years, and the absence of a stronger punishment was surprising to many.
Rublev's angry outburst and good fortune to not injure the court-sweeper is just the latest sour incident of late.
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