Wimbledon players hit where it hurts because of on-court antics

The figure of total fines doled out at Wimbledon this year has topped 106,400 US dollars already, the highest total in the last five years.

Australian player Bernard Tomic came close to equalling last year’s total of 62,500 US dollar (£49,500) when he was docked all of his £46,300 prize money for lack of effort in his first round performance against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.

In second place was Uruguayan doubles player Pablo Cuevas who was handed a 10,000 US dollar (£7,900) penalty for threatening to urinate in a ball can when the umpire refused to allow him to a toilet break.

Russia’s Daniil Medevedev also found himself in disgrace for taking a swipe at the famous Wimbledon grass with his racquet following his defeat to Belgium’s David Goffin in the fifth set.

He earned himself a 5,500 US dollar (£4,300) fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Swearing, lateness and failing to stick to the dress code can all result in a fine.

The latest figures have yet to take into account Italian Fabio Fognini’s outburst when things weren’t going his way in his third-round defeat to Tennys Sandgren.

The Italian said he hoped a “bomb would explode on this club”.

Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis was keen to play down this year’s bad behaviour, saying: “I think as a general comment the behaviour has been outstanding – there’s been one or two high profile incidents but if you look back over the years there’s always something going on.”

Mr Lewis added: “It’s one of the beauties of tennis really, that it’s head-to-head contest and emotions and passions run high and sometimes they slightly overspill in a way that there has to be some sanctions.”

He said the club wasn’t looking to make examples of people.

Referring to Fognini’s potential penalty, he said: “It was one of those heat of the moment comments.

“It was a very unfortunate comment and Fabio was good enough to apologise straight away.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if in the end there’s a small fine but we would certainly keep it in context.”

Among the women to find themselves on the naughty step were Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka, Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Germany’s Andrea Petkovic.

Sabalenka lost 10,000 US dollars (£7,900) for unsportsmanlike conduct for losing her temper during her defeat to Magdalena Rybarikova.

Ostapenko was fined $3,000 (£2,300) for verbal abuse, while Petkovic was fined the same amount for uttering an audible obscenity.es.