Andrey Rublev disqualified for verbally abusing line judge in shocking scenes
Andrey Rublev was defaulted from his semi-final match against Alexander Bublik at the Dubai Tennis Championships after screaming in the face of a line judge and being accused of swearing at him amid chaotic scenes in the ATP Tour event.
Rublev, the Russian World No 5, trailed Bublik 6-5 in the deciding set when he approached the line judge and launched into an extraordinary verbal tirade, pointing to a ball that he believed had gone out behind the baseline.
Shortly afterwards, during the changeover, Rublev was spoken to by ATP supervisor Roland Herfel and was told he had been defaulted from the tournament, leading to protestations from both Rublev and his opponent Bublik.
In a highly controversial end to the contest, the 26-year-old Rublev refuted a claim that he had sworn at the line judge in Russian – insisting he was speaking English and did not swear.
With Rublev taking his seat at the side of the court, referee Herfel approached the World No 5 accompanied by a Russian speaker, who alleged that Rublev had sworn in his outburst at the line judge.
During his exchange with the official, Rublev insisted: “I was not talking Russian”.
“I was talking first of all in English, not Russian, second I can say he was talking in a bad way too,” Rublev said.
“I didn’t say ‘f******’. I swear to God. This is huge. I swear to God.”
