Former top-10 player Frances Tiafoe has received an extraordinary US$120,000 fine (A$185,000) after his out-of-control outburst at the Shanghai Masters last month.
During the world No.18's defeat to Roman Safiullin, the American was repeatedly heard swearing at chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote following a controversial time violation.
"F*** you, f*** you, man. Seriously, f*** you, f****** idiot. You screwed up the match, do your f****** job. Three f***** hours, I'm fighting and running for my life," Tiafoe screamed after match point.
"You’re going to be on the f***ing blacklist for my matches. Never again. Literally had it out for me today. F***ing insane."
To break down the fine, the two-time US Open semi-finalist was fined US$60,000 (A$92,000) for verbal abuse and a further punishment of the same amount for aggravated behaviour.
It is the second-largest fine in ATP Tour history, with that unwanted title belonging to Frenchman Hugo Gaston after he was caught throwing an extra ball onto the court during play against Borna Ćorić.
However, players have received bigger fines that have resulted in a loss of prize money due to being defaulted from a tournament.
The 26-year-old pocketed US$2.7 million (A$4.2 million) in 2024, losing around five per cent of his earnings accumulated this year from the fine.
Tiafoe is eligible to appeal the fine, but his camp has not yet commented on the ruling.
Comments