Tennis: Rublev ranking points, prize money reinstated

Andrey Rublev won his appeal against losing his ranking points and prize money after being disqualified from the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Russian was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct in his semi-final with Alexander Bublik.

Rublev screamed in the face of a line judge following a disputed call in the third set.

A Russian-speaking official told ATP supervisor Roland Herfel that Rublev had sworn at the line judge in Russian.

“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,” said the ATP.

Rublev’s fine of $36,400 (£28,700) for the code violation remains in place after the appeal.

Russian-born Kazakh Bublik, who received a code violation for smashing his racquet earlier in the match, was awarded the win at 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-5.

He went on to lose the final to France’s Ugo Humbert.