Andrey Rublev’s disqualification from the Dubai Tennis Championships has sparked a heated debate within the tennis community. Many players, including Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Daria Kasatkina, have expressed their belief that the disqualification was unfair. Tennis commentators, such as Brad Gilbert, have also joined the chorus of criticism.
Stephanie Livaudais of Tennis.com has questioned the need for video assistant referees (VAR) in tennis. However, the debate has extended beyond social media. In the debut episode of “Served with Andy Roddick” on Tennis Channel’s second network, T2, Roddick and Jon Wertheim shared their opinions on the controversy.
Roddick believes that Rublev “went too far” in his confrontation with the official, but he also criticized the severity of the punishment. “He has to now give up his prize money for the week, his ATP ranking points for the week, drops him out of the Top 5 in the world,” Roddick said. “I don’t know what his meltdown on Friday has to do with his first, second, and third-round victories.”
Wertheim agreed, saying that a Google Translate confirmation would be one thing, but a translation by a Russian speaker was a hasty decision. He questioned whether Rublev’s actions in the third set warranted a default. “If there’s an element of danger like Tsitsipas rifling the ball into a crowd of Wimbledon and it almost hits a kid, not cool,” Wertheim said. “But if a tennis player in the third set is frustrated and he takes out some aggression and says some things he shouldn’t say in a different language than the recipient, is that really worthy of default?”
Wertheim defended Rublev for cursing in his native tongue, saying that it showed respect for the official. Rublev is now preparing for the Sunshine Swing in Indian Wells and Miami, hoping to put the controversy behind him.
Roddick and Wertheim also made predictions for the upcoming ATP and WTA 1000-level events in Indian Wells and Miami. They discussed Andy Murray’s announcement that he is likely to retire after the summer.
