WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic was fined his full prize money of 45,000 pounds ($56,500) at Wimbledon on Thursday for not meeting “the required professional standards” in his first-round loss.
Tomic, a quarterfinalist in 2011, lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 on Tuesday - a match that lasted only 58 minutes.
“It is the opinion of the Referee that the performance of Bernard Tomic in his first round match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not meet the required professional standards,” the All England Club said in a statement.
Tomic can appeal the decision.
After the loss, Tomic was asked if he was happy with the effort he put in.
“Next question, please,” was his answer.
He was later asked about being fined $15,000 at the All England Club in 2017 for saying during a news conference that he was “a little bit bored out there” after losing a match.
Tomic declined to answer.
Fines for a lack of effort are on the rise in tennis following the introduction of a performance rule in 2018 that aims to deter players who enter tournaments while injured from retiring during first-round matches.
American player Anna Tatishvili was fined $50,000 at this year’s French Open after a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Maria Sakkari of Greece. Tatishvili, who has appealed, had been playing in her first competition since October 2017 because of an ankle injury.
Mischa Zverev was fined $45,000 at the 2018 Australian Open. He retired from his match against Hyeon Chung in the second set, citing a viral illness.
Sloane Stephens, who won the 2017 U.S. Open title and reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2013, said she wasn’t convinced it was fair for event organizers to decide if a player tried or not.
“I think now if the tournaments are going to be their own judge and say, like, and they’re going to do that, then — hmm,” said the ninth-seeded Stephens, who reached the third round on Thursday. “I can’t say I’m 100 percent onboard with that.”
Nick Kyrgios later said it was “a little rough” to take away all the money Tomic had earned by playing in the tournament.
“I don’t agree with fining the guy all of his prize money,” Kyrgios said after losing to Rafael Nadal in the second round. “He earned his right to be in the draw. He played the whole year. He’s obviously winning enough to be at the most prestigious tournament in the world. To take all his prize money I think is outrageous.”
Injured players who withdraw before the tournament - allowing someone who lost in qualifying to get into the draw - receive half the amount of first-round prize money.
Tomic was asked if he had any issues with his preparation for the match at Wimbledon.
“No,” he said. “Just played terrible.”
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