Andrey Rublev's prize money and ranking points in Dubai reinstated by ATP following Russian's disqualification
The ATP has reinstated Andrey Rublev's prize money and ranking points earned at the Dubai Open after initially stripping the Russian of them due to his disqualification.
Rublev was disqualified from his semifinals match at the Dubai Tennis Championship against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik for threatening a linesman.
ATP's decision follows an appeal by Rublev against the decision of the chair umpire during the match. The move will allow Rublev to retain his No. 5 ranking on the ATP Tour.
Rublev has now been fined $36,400 for his actions, which will now come out of his $157,755 prize money. He also received 200 ranking points for reaching the semifinals. Sports news journalist James Gray took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the development. Gray quoted an ATP spokesperson to confirm the news.
"Andrey Rublev's appeal over his controversial DQ last week has been partially successful. The ATP have reinstated his prize money and ranking points in Dubai, saying Rublev losing them would be "would be disproportionate in this case"," Gray wrote on X.
Rublev was defaulted last week after a line judge claimed he had called one of the officials "fu***ng moron" in his native Russian. The 26-year-old player claimed that he was not even talking in Russian, but was disqualified by the tournament supervisor for abusing an official.
“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," Gray quoted the ATP spokesperson as saying.“The appeal process took into consideration testimonies from the player, officials, as well as a review of all available video and audio materials."
Bublik led 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-5 at the time of default and said he was happy to continue the match. However, Bublik was awarded the win. The Kazakh went on to lose the finals to France's Ugo Humbert.
Andrey Rublev has won 14 matches so far in 2024
Andrey Rublev has won 14 matches so far this season. He opened the 2024 season on a positive note by winning the Hong Kong Open. The Russian defeated Finland's Emil Ruusuvori in straight sets in the finals.
After a hard-fought five sets win in the first round of the Australian Open, Rublev won the next two rounds in straight sets at the first Grand Slam of the year. He then won a tight five-set encounter against Australia's Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. Rublev then lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner of Italy in straight sets in the quarterfinals.
The Russian next featured in the Rotterdam Open, where he lost to Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. Rublev then reached the semifinals of the Dubai Open, where he was disqualified while playing against Bublik.