Andrey Rublev is set to break his silence over his disqualification from the Dubai Tennis Championships when he speaks to the media ahead of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, as the ATP Tour have given their verdict on the biggest talking point in tennis.
Rublev was sensationally defaulted after being accused of swearing at a line judge in the deciding set of his semi-final at the Dubai Open.
The combustible Russian was trailing 6-5 in the third against Alexander Bublik when he appeared to say something to the line judge.
ATP supervisor Roland Herfel came down to the court accompanied by a Russian speaker, who claimed Rublev had sworn in his native language.
Rublev protested, insisting he was speaking in English, while Bublik also backed his opponent.
“I didn’t say ‘f******’. I swear to God. This is huge. I swear to God,” said Rublev.
The offence would usually merit a warning in the first instance, but the 26-year-old was defaulted by umpire Miriam Bley amid jeers from the crowd in Dubai.
Now US tennis star and former ATP to-20 player Reilly Opelka has waded in with his views on the incident, as he suggested the lines person involved in the incident ‘should get demoted to pickleball ASAP’.
Opelka’s comments come after a wide-ranging mix of views following the incident, with tennis bad-boy Nick Kyrgios among those leaping to Rublev’s defence.
“Class from Bublik, saying he wanted to continue,” wrote the Aussie in a message on X. “Respect. Feel for Rublev. Did not warrant a default.”
The most pointed comments following the incident came from Rublev’s opponent in Dubai, with Bublik suggesting the time has come for match officials to be taken off court and replaced with electronic line calling.
“I highly doubt Andrey said something crazy. He’s not this kind of guy, but I guess that’s the rule. That’s what they did, they just follow the procedure,” Bublik told reporters.
“There’s not much to say. With all due respect, it was a great match and both of us deserved to win. The crowd was there and we could have played one of the greatest matches against each other. It’s a pity it ended like this.
“I wish Andrey to get back on track as soon as possible.
“I would have preferred to lose 7-6 in the third than to win the match like this.
“We could have played one of the greatest matches we played against each other in front of a packed crowd in Dubai. It’s a pity it’s ended like this.”
Bublik then went on to suggest umpires and line judges could be removed from tennis as he added: “We have this proof every week that when the tournament is with electronic line-calling, we don’t have these troubles.
“Players are not getting crazy. It’s our passion. We play for this. We live for this. We grew up dreaming of playing these stadiums.
“Then some guy who is working for three years as a line judge, staying there deciding something. Then you come up to a situation like this. Is it the fault of Andrey? Maybe. Is it the fault of the umpire? Maybe.
“If we take the umpire out, we cannot take off Andrey. That is the thing. We cannot take off players. Players will be there. It’s tennis because of the players because we are playing this sport, not the opposite way around.
“We can take any umpire away — and that would solve many issues.”
All eyes were on the ATP, who needed to come up with a verdict on what punishment Rublev may face for a disqualification that he clearly feels was unjust as he insists he did not mutter the words that got him thrown out of the tournament.
Players who have been disqualified from tournaments have tended to lose their ranking points and prize money, yet that fate will not befall Rublev.
Due to the dispute over what he said, the ATP have taken a softer line and has allowed him to keep his ranking points for his run to last week’s semi-finals in Dubai and he has also retained most of his prize money.
Rublev has been fined $36,000 for his actions, but this punishment could have been much more severe.
“The appeals committee concluded that, beyond forfeiting the match, customary penalties associated with a default – namely loss of rankings points and prize money for the entire tournament – would be disproportionate in this case,” said the ATP.