American player Frances Tiafoe has apologized for repeatedly swearing at the referee following her loss at the Shanghai Masters.
Tiafoe, 26, was furious with referee Jimmy Pinoargote after losing 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5) to Russia’s Roman Safiulin.
Tiafoe could face a fine of up to $60,000 (£46,000) with the tirade classed as a verbal abuse offense under ATP rules.
“I sincerely apologize for my actions,” the world number 17 wrote on Instagram.
“That’s not who I am and that’s not how I treat people.”
Tiafoe’s outburst came at the end of the game when the U.S. was awarded a time violation in a 5-5 tiebreak.
The two-time US Open semifinalist claimed he had thrown the ball for serve, but Pinoargotte agreed it was not a legal throw to start the point and was penalized.
Tiafoe, who had to start from the second serve, lost a point to Safiullin after an exciting exchange 6-5 across the entire court, with Safiullin winning at the first attempt.
As Tiafoe walked towards the referee’s table, he unleashed a prolonged burst of expletives at Pinoargote.
“I felt frustrated in the heat of the moment and extremely disappointed in the way the situation was handled,” Tiafoe added.
“It was unacceptable behavior and I would like to apologize to the referee, the tournament and the fans.”
If tournament officials feel the incident is ‘particularly detrimental or unusually serious to the success of the tournament’, an incident may be escalated.
If Tiafoe’s actions are deemed an ‘aggravated conduct offence’ or ‘conduct against the integrity of the game’ he could face a larger fine.
