"Money does not do it, give someone with that behaviour a three or six-month suspension" - Mats Wilander on Alexander Zverev's Acapulco outburst
Alexander Zverev was fined $40,000 and forced to forfeit his prize money and ATP ranking points at the 2022 Mexican Open, after he violently smashed his racquet and screamed obscenities at umpire Alessandro Germani following a doubles defeat.
In a recent interview, seven-time Grand Slam champion wilander/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Mats Wilander claimed the German's punishment was not severe enough. The Swede said that after an outburst like that, a player must go through rehab and take some time off from the game.
"If a player breaks his racquet on the umpire's chair and he is literally a few centimetres away from hitting the umpire's leg, he should not be allowed to get on a tennis court until he has gone through some kind of rehab, some kind of time," Wilander told Eurosport.
"We need to punish him accordingly, and allowing him to come out and play professional tennis the week after or two weeks after, that is too soon," the Swede added.
Alexander Zverev has been THROWN OUT of the Mexican Open for attacking the umpire's chair at the end of his doubles match 😮😮😮 https://t.co/CWhQ1r6kwj
Wilander said that a fine is not enough of a punishment for Alexander Zverev's actions, and that he should receive a long suspension. He also suggested barring him from playing the most important tournaments on the calendar for the time being.
"To me, money does not do it, and I think you either give someone with that behaviour a three-month suspension or a six-month suspension," Wilander said. "You do not allow him to play the most important tournaments on his calendar. Now, the most important tournaments are most probably the Grand Slams, the ATP 1000, the Davis Cup."
"Not fair to other players" that Alexander Zverev is allowed to play soon after his outburst: Wilander
During the Eurosport interview, Mats Wilander went on to claim that Alexander Zverev being allowed to participate in big events after behaving in such a manner is unfair to the other players on tour. The World No. 3 is currently scheduled to represent Germany in the qualifying round of the 2022 Davis Cup.
"I mean, I do not know where you draw the line, but certainly going out and competing in any shape or form straight away, it does not seem like that is very fair to other players," Wilander said.
The former World No. 1 asserted that the regulatory bodies of tennis should come together to ensure players who have such outbursts should go through a rehabilitation process before they take to the court again.
"Maybe it is time to have some kind of a professional body of tennis that makes all these decisions, and it is the combination of the ATP, the ITF, the WTA, the Olympic committee. We get together, and these kinds of behaviours, no, you're not allowed to play on any circuit until you have gone through some kind of a rehabilitation process," he said. "... So no, it is not great for tennis."