A furious Mikael Ymer was defaulted in the round of 16 match at the Lyon Open for repeatedly hitting the chair umpire’s seat. The 24-year-old Swede was playing home crowd favorite Arthur Fils and the pair were locked in a tight first-set battle at 5-all when Ymer was visibly agitated by the umpire, who withheld his decision for a disputed ball mark.
Ymer, serving in the 11th game of the first set at 30-30, requested for the umpire to check on Fils’ looping forehand which he thought was out, but called in. It set up break point and Fils broke instantly with a backhand passing shot in the next point.
Ymer was beside himself and could not contain his anger and attacked the umpire’s seat at the changeover by bashing a hole in it with repeated and violent thrusts using his racket. The racket was in pieces leaving him holding just the grip.
Here’s the full video of the moment Mikael Ymer furiously attacked the chair umpire
What a dramatic ending to a fascinating contest…
Ymer is disqualified vs Fils in Lyon 🇫🇷#OpenParc @OpenParcARA pic.twitter.com/N7E2a1pS6E
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 24, 2023
The tournament supervisor was soon called to the court and told Ymer he left him with no choice but to disqualify him. The crowd audibly gasped and booed the Swede during and after the shocking incident.
It is the second incident of its kind in the last 15 months.
Last February, Germany’s Alexander Zverev was thrown out of the Mexican Open after hitting the umpire’s chair and was audibly captured using foul language following his doubles match. Zverev was later expelled from singles competition of the event by the ATP for unsportsmanlike conduct and issued an apology for his actions.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
