Nick Kyrgios (AUS) argues with chair umpire Carlos Bernardes (not pictured) after being assessed a point penalty during the first set tiebreaker against Jannik Sinner (ITA in a fourth round men’s singles match in the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports/Files
Nick Kyrgios has been fined $35,000 for his behavior during a fourth-round loss to Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open in which he criticized the umpire and smashed his racket, the sport’s governing ATP said on Thursday.
After repeatedly berating umpire Carlos Bernardes for failing to control the crowd at the Masters 1000 tournament on Tuesday, Kyrgios received a point penalty in the first set tiebreak for telling a friend in the stands he could do a better job officiating.
The Australian wild card then received a game penalty – putting Italian Sinner up a break at the start of the second set – after repeatedly yelling “What is unsportsmanlike?” to Bernardes, and then walked to his bench, where he whacked his racket against the court.
The ATP said Kyrgios was fined $5,000 for audible obscenity, $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and $20,000 for verbal abuse.
Asked after the match about his behavior, Kyrgios defended his character while railing against the umpire.
“He’s not even going to get a slap on the wrist for his dreadful umpiring performance today. Like, he was horrendous,” said the Australian.
The incident followed an outburst at Indian Wells earlier this month, where Kyrgios lost his temper after losing in the quarter-final to Rafa Nadal, smashing his racket to the ground, which then bounced up and almost hit a ball boy.
He apologized after the match and was fined $25,000.