WIMBLEDON: Australia’s Bernard Tomic has lost his entire prize money earned from this year’s Wimbledon championships after it was determined that he failed to perform at his top ability.
The former top 20 player was accused of tanking and showing a lack of effort during his 6-2, 6-1, 6-4, loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. The match lasted just 58 minutes and is the shortest to take place in the men’s draw at Wimbledon for 15 years. It is not the first time the world No.96 has been blasted for his on-court behavior and he has earned the nickname ‘Tomic the tank engine.’
Following his latest performance, referee of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has issued Tomic with the maximum fine of £45,000. Meaning that he has lost all of his prize money earned for playing in the first round.
“All players are expected to perform to a professional standard in every Grand Slam match. With respect to First Round Performance, if in the opinion of the Referee the player did not perform to the required professional standard, the Referee may determine that the player be subject to a fine of up to first round prize money.” A statement reads.
Tomic has previously denied any wrongdoing and told reporters that he played ‘the best he could.’ When asked if he was happy with the amount of effort he put in, the 26-year-old declined to give an answer.
“I think I played as best as I could. It’s just I played terrible. And he (Tsonga) served 24 aces.” Said Tomic.
“I played well last week. This week, it was a tough first round. I knew if I didn’t feel good I’d lose this match quickly. We played so fast. It’s not like we’re gonna have a lot of rallies out there, for sure.” He added.
It is not the first time a player has been fined for a lack of effort in a grand slam. Anna Tatishvili was docked £41,000 at the French Open in June for not giving her best efforts and Peter Gojowczyk was fined 25,000 euros after retiring against Cameron Norrie at the 2018 Australian Open.
In recent years, the governing bodies of tennis have tightened up their rules in order to prevent players from deliberately playing at grand slams whilst injured or ill in order to collect the prize money. Under the regulations, Lucky losers and players who withdraw prior to the tournament split the first round prize money.
Tomic has made no comment about his fine.
