Andrey Rublev’s semifinal match against Alexander Bublik at the Dubai Tennis Championships ended in chaos and controversy. Rublev found himself trailing 6-5 in the deciding set when he approached a line judge, angrily disputing a call regarding a ball he believed had landed out of bounds.
In the heat of the moment, Rublev unleashed a verbal tirade at the official, which escalated into a heated exchange. Despite Rublev’s insistence that he spoke in English and did not use profanity, allegations were made that he had sworn at the line judge in Russian.
View this post on Instagram
The situation intensified as ATP supervisor Roland Herfel intervened with a Russian-speaking staff member who claimed that he heard what Rublev said, and according to him, Rublev cursed the line umpire.
Rublev said, “I was talking to him in English. And I only ask him how is it possible.” Roland protested.
Rublev protested back saying, “I was not talking Russian. I was talking first of all in English, not Russian, second I can say he was talking in a bad way too.”
Roland, standing with the Russian-speaking staff member said in return, “He just said that you said in Russian you’re an a**hole moron”.
Rublev said, “I didn’t say that. Are you serious?
Roland said, “He is a Russian-speaking guy, you can’t do anything about that.”
Rublev said, “I was not talking in Russian..”
Roland said, “Well that is a default”
Rublev asked, “What do you mean default”
The to and fro continued for some minutes and Roland finally informed Rublev that he was being defaulted from the tournament due to his conduct.
The referee stood by the decision and disqualified Rublev for unsportsmanlike behavior. This decision prompted boos from the crowd, while Bublik expressed confusion but indicated a willingness to continue the match.
Andrey Rublev gets defaulted after completely losing his mind and screaming in the face of a line judge — who speaks Russian.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) March 1, 2024
Loses all his points and prize money from this week and will leave the top 5.
What a mess!
Although Bublik was okay to continue the match, however, the decision was already made. Rublev’s disqualification came at a critical juncture in the match, with him leading in sets and holding break points prior to the incident. Adding to the tension, Bublik had received a warning earlier in the set for smashing his racket.
Rublev’s exit from the tournament means he forfeits all prize money and ranking points earned. Rublev will be losing his 5th rank as well, while Bublik advances to the final, where he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Ugo Humbert.
Riley Opelka and the tennis world divided after Andrey Rublev was defaulted
The incident sent shockwaves throughout the tennis world. Many fans complained about giving Rublev a harsh penalty that he didn’t deserve. Many also argued for using VAR and checking the footage before coming to the decision. American tennis ace Riley Opelka commented, “Bush league..linesman should get demoted to pickleball asap.”
Many fans however also took notice of Rublev’s growing anger issues in the matches and criticized him for screaming at the official linesman.
Look, swearing or not, you can’t scream in officials’ faces and get away with it every time
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 1, 2024
Time for Rublev to take action towards resolving his anger issues pic.twitter.com/mD2IQ0IooS
Walking up to a line umpire and yelling in their face should be grounds for default in my book. That’s extremely poor, and disappointing, from Rublev.
— Erik Jonsson 🇺🇦 (@erktennis) March 1, 2024
Obviously don’t want this to happen but hopefully it might be the thing to finally stop Rublev acting like a spoilt child on court and start being an adult. It is painful watching him have a paddy like a kid in a supermarket who cant have sweets every match. https://t.co/7NHFu6l89i
— Sammy (@Sammyb01) March 1, 2024
Some Russian-speaking fans did agree with what the officials came up with, that Rublev said “moron” to the line umpire.
He clearly called the line umpire a moron (дебил) in Russian. Whether it was a f*cking moron or simply a moron is not clear because in the broadcaster turned the microphone on just on the moron word. But I have no reason to doubt the umpire who said it was a f*cking one.
— Oleg S. (@AnnaK_4ever) March 1, 2024
Overall, the match was marred by controversy and a dramatic turn of events, leaving both players and spectators stunned by Rublev’s abrupt disqualification.