The ATP now seems determined to severely punish acts of anti-play on the circuit. As revealed The Team, the tricolor tennis player Hugo Gaston has just received a hefty fine of 133,000 euros, after an act of anti-play during the last Masters 1000 in Madrid. This amount, which has not been confirmed by his coach Younes El Aynaoui, is colossal, especially since the Toulouse player has only accumulated 108,400 euros in prize money since the beginning of the year.
On April 28, during his defeat in the second round in Madrid against Borna Coric (3-6, 3-6), Hugo Gaston had dropped a ball from his pocket on a smash from the Croatian, in the middle of the first set ball. This gesture considered voluntary, with the aim of replaying the point, was perceived by the ATP as an act characterized as anti-game.
Already warned last year
The Frenchman had already been warned at the end of last year for a similar action, so this episode clearly did not help his case. The new scale (more severe than in the past) enacted by the ATP since the beginning of the season, mentions a maximum fine of 60,000 dollars for Masters 1000. But this scale can be doubled in the event of a repeat offense, which is therefore the case of the current 108th player in the world, who is about to play the first round of Roland-Garros.