Frances Tiafoe has been heavily fined for his behavior at the Shanghai Masters event.
There are several reasons that a player can be fined on the ATP Tour, such as disrespecting an umpire, hitting a ball into the crowd, or showing a lack of effort on the court.
Players often find themselves in verbal exchanges with the officials, and are sometimes lucky to come away without a fine.
This wasn’t the case for Tiafoe however, who launched an expletive-filled rant against the umpire in his match against Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters.
Tiafoe was given a time violation at 5-5 in the deciding set tiebreaker, forcing him to start on a second serve.
The American was furious at the decision and made his feelings heard to umpire Jimmy Pinoargote after the match as he eventually lost to his Russian opponent.
Tiafoe did apologize for the incident, admitting that it was ‘not acceptable behavior’, but his apology didn’t help him escape a hefty fine.
Frances Tiafoe fined $120,000 for his behavior at the Shanghai Masters
Tiafoe’s outburst was a very expensive one as he has now been fined $120,000 for his behavior at the Shanghai Masters.
A first $60,000 fine for ‘verbal abuse’, was followed by another $60,000 fine for ‘aggravated behavior’, leaving Tiafoe with one of the biggest fines in the history of the sport.
The 26-year-old was lucky enough to avoid a suspension however, as he will look forward to a return to tennis at the Brisbane Open in 2025.
$120,000 is a huge fine, and one of the biggest we’ve ever seen in tennis, but is it the biggest?
What are the top five biggest fines in tennis history?
Whilst Tiafoe’s fine was not a cheap punishment by any means, there have been plenty of big-money punishments on the ATP Tour over the years.
Here are the top five biggest fines in tennis history.
1. Novak Djokovic – $267,500 (US Open 2020)
Perhaps the most memorable fine in recent memory, Novak Djokovic’s disqualification from the US Open in 2020 led to the biggest monetary punishment we have ever seen.
The Serb hit a ball out of frustration during his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta, which inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat.
Despite apologising immediately, Djokovic was defaulted from the event, forfeiting his $250,000 prize money he would have received for reaching the last 16 in New York.
He was punished with a further $10,000 for the violation and $7500 for skipping the mandatory post-match press conference, making it the largest fine we have ever seen in tennis.
2. Frances Tiafoe – $120,000 (Shanghai Masters 2024)
Tiafoe’s expletive-laden rant at the umpire in Shanghai landed him with the second biggest fine tennis has ever seen.
The ATP Tour will no doubt be hoping that two separate $60,000 fines for his behavior will act as a strong deterrent from him doing the same again in the future.
3. Nick Kyrgios – $113,000 (Cincinnati Open 2019)
Nick Kyrgios was handed the biggest fine we had ever seen at the time in Cincinnati five years ago.
During his second-round match against Karen Khachanov, Kyrgios was given five separate unsportsmanlike conduct violations.
The majority of his fines were for verbally abusing the chair umpire and smashing a number of rackets, resulting in a $113,000 fine.
A big fine like this doesn’t seem to affect Kyrgios, as he has seemingly embraced his ‘bad boy’ image on the ATP Tour.
4. Serena Williams – $82,500 (2009 US Open)
Two points away from defeat in the 2009 US Open semi-finals, Serena Williams received a foot fault on her second serve, gifting her opponent Kim Clijsters match point.
The American was enraged by the decision and unloaded on the line judge who called the fault allegedly threatening the official.
She was then handed a point penalty for her outburst, giving Clijsters the win and a place in the final.
Williams apologised right away, but couldn’t escape a massive $82,500 fine.
5. David Nalbandian – $69,910 (2012 Queen’s Club)
David Nalbandian was a set up in the final of Queens in 2012, when he lost his temper in the second set after losing break point to Marin Cilic.
The Argentine kicked an advertisement board in front of a line judge which smashed causing the judge to bleed from his left shin.
Nalbandian was defaulted from the final, forfeiting his $57,350 prize money, and was later fined $12,560 for unsportsmanlike conduct, resulting in a total fine of $69,910.
These fines are the biggest we’ve ever seen in tennis, but the higher-ups will hope that throwing the metaphorical book at players for their behavior, will see a change in the way they treat officials in the future.
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