Under the Rules and Regulations of Tennis,[1] when a player violates a rule or does not follow the tennis code of conduct, the umpire or tournament official can issue one of the following (Section IV, Article C, Item 18 – "Unsportsmanlike Conduct"):
Generally, this results in the following escalation:
After the third offense, it is up to the chair umpire (1%) but mostly tournament supervisor (99%) whether this constitutes a Default/Disqualification.
This is outside of any "off-court" issues related to a player's attire, behavior at media conferences, drug use, etc.
The New York Times compiled a list of fines received by gender between 1998 and 2018 at the four major tennis grand slam tournaments.[2]
| Fine | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Racket abuse | 646 | 99 | |
| Audible obscenity | 344 | 140 | |
| Unsportsmanlike conduct | 287 | 67 | |
| Coaching | 87 | 152 | |
| Ball abuse | 50 | 35 | |
| Verbal abuse | 62 | 16 | |
| Visible obscenity | 20 | 11 | |
| No press | 6 | 10 | |
| Time violations | 7 | 3 | |
| Best effort | 2 | 0 | |
| Default | 3 | 0 | |
| Doubles attire | 2 | 1 | |
| Late for match | 1 | 1 | |
| First round retirement | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 1519 | 535 |
This is a list of code violations that resulted in a player or doubles team being disqualified from the tournament.
| Tournament | Player(s) | Opponent(s) | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Indian Wells, USA | Defaulted for leaving the court.[3] | |||
| 1988 Cincinnati Open, USA | Andrés Gómez | Carl Limberger | Two audible obscenities, hitting the court microphone and smashing his racket against the court.[4] | |
| 1990 Australian Open, Australia | Mikael Pernfors | Three consecutive code violations. Received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct after intimidating a lineswoman, a second warning for racquet abuse, and was disqualified after verbally abusing the chair umpire Gerry Armstrong.[5] | ||
| 1995 French Open, France | Carsten Arriens | Brett Steven | Hitting a linesman with a thrown racket.[6] | |
| 1995 Wimbledon, UK | Tim Henman / Jeremy Bates | Jeff Tarango / Henrik Holm | Both were disqualified after Henman hit a ball girl with a ball.[7] | |
| 1995 Wimbledon, UK | Jeff Tarango | Alexander Mronz | Telling spectators to "shut up" earned a violation, and a second one after he called the chair umpire the "most corrupt official in the game" before walking off the court. Tarango was fined 28,000 pounds and banned from the tournament the following year[8] | |
| 1995 US Open, USA | Shuzo Matsuoka | Petr Korda | Delay of play after collapsing from severe cramping in his thighs. He was not allowed to receive medical attention without forfeiting the match under the rules at the time. The incident led to a change in the rules of professional tennis to allow players to receive medical treatment during matches.[9] [10] | |
| 1996 Indianapolis Open, USA | Andre Agassi | Daniel Nestor | Ball abuse and verbal abuse.[11] [12] | |
| 1997 Miami Open, USA | Mariano Zabaleta | Adrian Voinea | Disqualified over hitting a line judge with a ball.[13] [14] | |
| 2000 French Open, France | Stefan Koubek | Attila Sávolt | Hitting a ball boy. | |
| 2000 Los Angeles Open, USA | Marcelo Ríos | Gouichi Motomura | Swearing at the chair umpire. Subsequently, fined US$5,000.[15] | |
| 2005 Miami Open, USA | Xavier Malisse | David Ferrer | Aggravated behaviour (Hitting a line judge and insulting her).[16] | |
| 2007 Open de Moselle, France | Sébastien Grosjean | Directing abusive language towards the tournament supervisor while disputing a call.[17] | ||
| 2012 Queen's Club Championships, UK | David Nalbandian | Marin Čilić | Injuring an official after kicking an advertising board. | |
| 2016 Savannah Challenger, USA | Daniil Medvedev | Donald Young | Disqualified over 'question[ing] the impartiality of the umpire based on her race,' the US Tennis Association said.[18] | |
| 2017 Davis Cup World Group, Canada | Denis Shapovalov | Kyle Edmund | Hitting the chair umpire with a ball hit in anger.[19] | |
| 2017 US Open, USA | Fabio Fognini | Stefano Travaglia | Fine: $24,000/$96,000; verbal abuse to Chair Umpire. Defaulted from doubles match.[20] [21] | |
| 2018 Swiss Open, Switzerland | Yann Marti | Adrian Bodmer | Pointing racquet at Severin Lüthi and saying to him: "You can put that in your butt."[22] | |
| 2019 Italian Open, Italy | Nick Kyrgios | Casper Ruud | Multiple offenses throughout the match, including ball abuse, offensive language directed at spectators, racket slamming, and tossing a chair onto the court; because of the default, Kyrgios was fined €33,635 plus the cost of his hotel accommodation and lost all ATP points earned for the tournament.[23] | |
| 2020 US Open, USA | Novak Djokovic | Pablo Carreño Busta | Hitting a line judge with a ball hit in anger.[24] | |
| 2021 Mexican Open, Mexico | Damir Džumhur | Botic van de Zandschulp | Leaving the court after continued disputes with the umpire earned him a point penalty.[25] | |
| 2021 Barcelona Open, Spain | Bernabé Zapata Miralles | Alleged "Verbal obscenity" against a line judge.[26] | ||
| 2022 Adelaide International, Australia | Corentin Moutet | Laslo Djere | Verbal obscenity against the chair umpire.[27] | |
| 2022 Mexican Open, Mexico | Alexander Zverev | Lloyd Glasspool / Harri Heliövaara | Fined $40,000 ($20,000 for verbal abuse and $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing the racket into the umpire's chair). Defaulted from singles match.[28] | |
| 2023 Lyon Open, France | Mikael Ymer | Arthur Fils | Hitting the umpire's chair with racket twice in anger; fined a total of €37,370 ($40,000) for his behavior.[29] [30] | |
| 2023 Shanghai Masters, China | Marc Polmans | Stefano Napolitano | Hitting the ball to umpire in anger when missed first match point. | |
| 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships, UAE | Andrey Rublev | Alexander Bublik | Verbal abuse, screaming in the face of a line judge.[31] | |
| 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open, USA | Ben Shelton | Offensive language directed at a spectator.[32] |
| Tournament | Player | Opponent | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Palermo Ladies Open, Italy | Irina Spîrlea | Stephanie Devillé | Abusive language directed at an official.[33] | |
| 2007 Cincinnati Masters, USA | Anastasia Rodionova | Angelique Kerber | Hitting a ball at spectators cheering Kerber[34] | |
| 2023 French Open, France | Miyu Kato / Aldila Sutjiadi | Sara Sorribes Tormo / Marie Bouzková | The pair were defaulted after a shot from Kato accidentally hit a ball girl.[35] |
| Tournament | Player | Opponent | Violation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 Stockholm Open, Sweden | John McEnroe | Anders Järryd | Fined $2,100 for unsportsmanlike conduct | |
| 1984 Stockholm Open, Sweden | John McEnroe | Mats Wilander | Assessed a warning for verbal abuse. After the tournament, the Men's International Professional Tennis Council suspended McEnroe 42 days for misconduct[36] | |
| 1987 US Open, USA | John McEnroe | Slobodan Živojinović | Fined $17,500 and suspended two months; After a series of arguments with the chair umpire that included penalties for unsportsmanlike behavior, verbal abuse, and language directed at a spectator,[37] [38] | |
| 1990 US Open, USA | Andre Agassi | Petr Korda | Called chair umpire a "son of a bitch" and spit on him. Agassi was assessed a penalty point, which was later rescinded as the spit was considered accidental. Agassi was still fined $3,000[39] | |
| 1996 US Open, USA | Pete Sampras | Àlex Corretja | Time violation for vomiting court side during the match[40] | |
| 1998 Sydney Seniors, Australia | John McEnroe | Mikael Pernfors | Received a warning for verbal abuse[41] | |
| 2009 US Open, USA | Roger Federer | Juan Martín del Potro | Fined $1,500 for outburst against umpire Jake Garner, in a row about the time taken to challenge by his opponent.[42] | |
| 2009 US Open, USA | Serena Williams | Kim Clijsters | Fined $10,500/$175,000: Received a foot fault and subsequently argued with a linesperson, which led to a code violation and a point penalty while she was a match point down, thus ending the match.[43] | |
| 2010 Wimbledon, UK | Victor Hănescu | Daniel Brands | Fined $21,500;Spitting on spectators.[44] | |
| 2011 | Daniel Köllerer | - | Banned for life; match fixing.[45] | |
| 2011 US Open, USA | Serena Williams | Sam Stosur | Received a code violation for verbal abuse after chair umpire Eva Asderaki warned her for hindrance. She was on probation for the 2009 offense at the same tournament.[46] | |
| 2014 Wimbledon, UK | Fabio Fognini | Alex Kuznetsov | Fined $27,500 damaging the court, then extra $7,500 for abuse of tournament official (and obscene gesture).[47] | |
| 2016 Istanbul Open, Turkey | Grigor Dimitrov | Diego Schwartzman | Smashed racquet three times, resulting in a warning, a point penalty, and another point penalty[48] | |
| 2016 Wimbledon, UK | Pablo Cuevas/Marcel Granollers | Jonathan Marray/Adil Shamasdin | Fined $9,000;Throwing a ball out of the court and trying to urinate on court. Granollers was fined $7,500 for protesting too much.[49] | |
| 2016 Wimbledon, UK | Heather Watson | Annika Beck | Fined $12,000; 2nd largest in Tournament history; for smashing racket into the grass.[50] | |
| 2016 Wimbledon, UK | Serena Williams | Christina McHale | Fined $10,000; for smashing racket into the grass.[51] | |
| 2016 Wimbledon, UK | Viktor Troicki | Albert Ramos Viñolas | Fined $10,000; for calling the umpire, Damiano Torella, the "Worst umpire ever in the world". | |
| 2017 Wimbledon, UK | Daniil Medvedev | Ruben Bemelmans | Fined $26,000; three conduct violations and throwing coins at the umpire's chair.[52] | |
| 2017 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs, Romania | (coach) | Fine $10,000 with 4-Yr ban; Various offenses; swearing, sexual advances, and remarks about Serena Williams' unborn child.[53] | ||
| 2018 US Open, USA | Alizé Cornet | Johanna Larsson | Received a warning for changing her shirt mid-match.[54] | |
| 2018 US Open Final, USA | Serena Williams | Naomi Osaka | Fined $17,000[55] for arguing against chair umpire Carlos Ramos for code offenses involving coaching and a racket slam, and impugning umpire's integrity.[56] | |
| 2019 Wimbledon, UK | Anna Tatishvili | - | Fined total purse: $51,500 for "not playing up to standards".[57] | |
| 2019 Wimbledon, UK | Serena Williams | - | Fined $10,000 for damaging a Wimbledon practice court with her racquet[58] | |
| 2019 Wimbledon, UK | Fabio Fognini | Tennys Sandgren | Fined $3,000 for saying he wished "a bomb would explode at the club".[59] | |
| 2019 Wimbledon, UK | Bernard Tomic | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | Fined $80,000 for "not playing up to the required standards".[60] | |
| 2019 Cincinnati Masters, USA | Nick Kyrgios | Karen Khachanov | Fined $113,000 after his meltdown, which included persistent abuse of an umpire, breaking his racquets and leaving the court.[61] | |
| 2019 US Open, USA | Mike Bryan | Fined $10,000 for pointing his racquet at an official, imitating shooting a rifle.[62] | ||
| 2019 US Open, USA | Daniil Medvedev | - | Multiple violations by Medvedev; incurring ~$19,000 in fines.[63] | |
| 2020 Australian Open, Australia | Roger Federer | Tennys Sandgren | Fined $3,000 for audible obscenity in the quarter-final match at the Australian Open against Tennys Sandgren. Federer received a code violation when a line judge reported him to the umpire, Marijana Veljovic.[64] | |
| 2020 Australian Open, Australia | Novak Djokovic | Dominic Thiem | No Fine: Back-to-back Time violations; touching Chair Umpire.[65] | |
| 2021 Australian Open, Australia | Karolína Plíšková | Karolína Muchová | Received a racket abuse warning and later was deducted a point for smashing another racket in the locker room during the break between the first and second sets.[66] | |
| 2021 French Open, France | Naomi Osaka | Patricia Maria Țig | Fined $15,000 for not honoring her Media Obligations (Article III, Section H of the Code of Conduct).[67] | |
| 2022 Indian Wells Masters, USA | Nick Kyrgios | Rafael Nadal | Fined $25,000 ($5,000 for audible obscenity against the chair umpire and $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after nearly hitting the ball boy after smashing his racket).[68] | |
| 2022 Miami Open, USA | Nick Kyrgios | Jannik Sinner | Fined $35,000 ($5,000 for audible obscenity, $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct after smashing his racket against the bench and berating the chair umpire Carlos Bernardes and $20,000 for verbal abuse against the officials).[69] | |
| 2022 Italian Open, Italy | Denis Shapovalov | Lorenzo Sonego | Received a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after crossing the net to check the mark, and later a game penalty for yelling "shut the f*** up" at spectators; the latter resulting in an $8,000 fine.[70] [71] | |
| 2022 French Open, France | Andrey Rublev | Kwon Soon-woo | Fined $8,000 for smacking the ball and throwing drink on-court in anger. Rublev avoided being defaulted as the ball narrowly missed the groundsman near him.[72] [73] | |
| 2022 French Open, France | Irina-Camelia Begu | Ekaterina Alexandrova | Fined $10,000 for throwing her racket onto the court. The racket then bounced into the stands, but Begu avoided being defaulted as it did not hit anyone.[74] [75] | |
| 2022 Wimbledon, UK | Nick Kyrgios | Paul Jubb | Fined $10,000 for spitting towards a spectator at the end of the match.[76] | |
| 2022 Wimbledon, UK | Nick Kyrgios | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Both were fined; Tsitsipas was fined $10,000 for two instances of ball abuse (one almost hitting a spectator), while Kyrgios was fined $4,000 for cursing.[77] | |
| 2022 US Open, USA | Nick Kyrgios | Benjamin Bonzi | Fined $7,500 for spitting towards his players' box and cursing during the match.[78] | |
| 2022 US Open, USA | Nick Kyrgios | Karen Khachanov | Fined $14,000 for smashing two rackets after loss.[79] | |
| 2023 Madrid Open, Spain | Hugo Gaston | Borna Ćorić | Fined €144,000 ($155,000) for intentionally throwing a ball on the court in attempt to replay the point.[80] | |
| 2023 Wimbledon, UK | Novak Djokovic | Carlos Alcaraz | Fined $8,000 for smashing racket into the net post after loss.[81] |