SUMMARY
- Mikael Ymer, in a series of tweets, has accused the sport of treating him differently due to his racial background.
- Mikael Ymer deleted his X handle after posting tweets containing allegations against the game's top officials.
Mikael Ymer was one of the youngsters from Sweden who had the potential to be the star of the ATP tour. His career had stopped last season when he was suspended for missing doping tests. Even though an independent tribunal cleared him, the ITF challenged the decision as the CAS enforced his suspension. Ymer was left disappointed with the decisions taken by the organization.
Ymer has now, in a series of deleted tweets, spoken about the injustice in the sport and declared that he is being treated differently due to his racial identity. He said, “I’m happy that he doesn’t have to go through that, but don’t look me in the face and say that this is not a racial issue. Damn, “You mean it’s not a race issue?.” He mentioned a fellow player committing the same violation but was left free.
The 25-year-old also talked about the CEO of Nordea Open, Christer Hult, who had paid him less prize money than promised. Ymer felt he was being targeted after telling Hult to keep the money to himself. He said, “I was sanctioned two days after telling Hult to shove Bastad’s money up his a**.” The former Swedish player shared details about the politics involved in the game.
Ymer said that the CEO of ITF and Hult were close friends. He went on to say that one of the four vice presidents in the ITF had offered money to the Swedish Federation in return for votes. The Swedish Federation rejected the offer, as Ymer stated. He has now deleted his X handle after the following tweets. There has been no official statement from the ITF regarding Ymer’s allegations.
Mikael Ymer and his startling journey on the ATP tour
Ymer has been on the ATP tour since 2015 and retired last season. He was outraged at being suspended for anti-doping violations. Ymer had played his professional match on the ITF tour in 2014 and defeated Jacob Adaktusson in straight sets. He lost his next match to his brother, Elias Ymer. In only his second year on tour, the Swedish player won his first ITF tour title.
The 25-year-old also made his ATP tour-level debut in 2015 against Alexander Zverev in Stockholm. Ymer secured his first victory on tour at the same event in 2016 against Ivo Karlovic. His second win was recorded two years later at Miami. The 2019 French Open marked his entry into the grand slams as Ymer reached the second round as a qualifier.
Miraculous Mikael 💫
Mikael Ymer comes back from two sets down to upset the No.9 seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to make the third round at Wimbledon for the very first time 🙌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ZWPgV6huIk
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2023
The world No.262 qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2019 and ended the event with one win in three matches. In 2021, Ymer recorded his best performance yet at the Winston-Salem Open by reaching the finals. He began playing regularly on the ATP tour and was ranked No.50. Ymer played his final match at Wimbledon in 2023, where he lost in the third round.