Staff Reporter.
American tennis player Frances Tiafoe has been fined $120,000 for a furious outburst, in which he repeatedly swore at the chair umpire, during last month’s Shanghai Masters.
Tiafoe reacted angrily towards Jimmy Pinoargote after losing 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) to Russia’s Roman Safiullin.
The world number 18 was fined $60,000 for aggravated behaviour on top of the maximum $60,000 fine for verbal abuse, making it the second biggest fine imposed on a player in ATP Tour history.
That honour is held by Hugo Haston who was fined nearly $152,000 in 2024 for a fourth incident of unsportsmanlike conduct in a single season.
The ATP’s 2024 rule book states that verbally abusing someone can lead to fines up to $60,000 but, if serious, a supervisor can escalate the matter to a committee for an investigation.
He also faced a suspension from playing but the ATP opted not to ban the player.
Tiafoe, 26, later apologised for his actions, saying his behaviour was “not acceptable”.
His outburst came at the end of a match that turned on the American being given a time violation at 5-5 in the final-set tie-break.
The two-time US Open semi-finalist claimed he tossed the ball up to serve, but Pinoargote disagreed it was a legitimate throw intended to start the point and penalised him.
Forced to start with a second serve, Tiafoe lost the point to trail 6-5 and Safiullin clinched victory at the first attempt.
As Tiafoe walked towards the umpire’s chair, he launched a flurry of expletives at Pinoargote in a prolonged outburst.