Tennis star Frances Tiafoe is facing a five-figure fine after his foul-mouth tirade at an umpire following his loss at the Shanghai Masters.
The extraordinary rant saw the American loudly swear at least 13 times at umpire Jimmy Pinoargote following his dramatic 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5) defeat to Roman Safiullin.
Tiafoe’s ire centred around a time violation the World No.17 received with the score tied 5-5 in the decisive tie-break.
The American argued he had tossed the ball up before the count expired but disagreed it was a legitimate throw intended to start the point docked him a first serve.
Tiafoe saw the match unravel shortly after, losing the subsequent point on second serve before Safiullin served an ace to wrap up the win.
But returning to his chair after shaking hands with his opponent, Tiafoe then launched an expletive-laden tirade at the umpire.
‘F*** you, man,’ he shouted. ‘F*** you. Seriously man, f*** you. You f***ed me the f***ing match. Three f***ing hours and you’re going to do that. Why? You f***ed the match up.
‘Great f***ing job. F*** you. Three f***ing hours, I’m f***ing out here battling, only for my livelihood.’
‘You’ll be on the f***ing blacklist of my matches, never again,’ he added. ‘Literally had it out for me today. It’s f***ing insane.’
Tiafoe’s extraordinary rant will amost certainly lead to heavy financial punishment, with the ATP rulebook allowing a fine of up to $60,000 for ‘verbally abuse an official’.
The 26-year-old could also see his prize money for reaching the third round docked.
Shortly after the match, Tiafoe was quick to apologise, saying: ‘I really regret the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people.
‘I let my frustration in the heat of the moment get the best of me, and I’m extremely disappointed with how I handled the situation.
‘I’m a work in progress but that’s not acceptable behavior and I want to apologize to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans.’
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