Bernard Tomic fined for not meeting “professional standards”

The Australian Bernard Tomic, eliminated in less than an hour in the first round of Wimbledon, has been sanctioned with a fine of 45,000 pounds (about 50,000 euros), the equivalent of his earnings for participating in the tournament, as announced Thursday organizers .

Tomic (96th World Cup) lost on Tuesday in only 58 minutes against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6-2, 6-1 and 6-4), the shortest match of the last fifteen editions of Wimbledon.

“In the opinion of the referee, the performance of Bernard Tomic in his first round match was not up to the expected professional level. As a result, a fine of 45,000 pounds has been imposed on him, which will be deducted from his prize for participation, “the tournament writes in a statement. The 26-year-old can appeal to the director of the Grand Slam Board, the council that deals with the fourth major tournaments.

Questioned at the end of the game about his effort, Tomic did not want to answer. «I think I played the best I could. It is simply that I have done extremely wrong and he did 24 aces, “he would later point out, questioned about the possibility of a fine for lack of combativeness.

       Tomic was already sanctioned in 2017 for faking an injury, in a loss to the German Mischa Zverev. Shortly after, the tennis player had discouraged young people from embarking on a professional career, describing their sport as “hard work”