Swedish tennis player Mikael Ymer faced disqualification from the Lyon Open after a display of anger led to him smashing his racket against the base of the umpire’s chair. The incident unfolded during Ymer’s round of 16 match against France’s Arthur Fils when he implored umpire Rogerio Santos to inspect a ball mark on the clay court. Santos, claiming to have seen the ball bouncing on the line, decided against checking for a mark, despite the common practice on clay surfaces. Ymer, convinced that the ball had gone out, expressed his frustration to Santos, questioning why he refused to verify the mark. Subsequently, Fils broke Ymer’s serve, pushing ahead with a score of 6-5. In response, the 24-year-old, ranked 53rd globally, struck his racket against the umpire’s chair twice, resulting in the racket head separating from the handle on the second impact.

Upon witnessing the incident, a tournament official promptly disqualified Ymer. Despite the setback, Ymer graciously approached Fils to offer congratulations. Fils, now advancing to face top seed Félix Auger Aliassime, emerged as the victor of the match. It is worth noting that a similar incident involving German player Alexander Zverev took place at the Mexican Open last year. Zverev faced an eight-week suspended ban and a $25,000 fine for repeatedly striking the umpire’s chair with his racket during a doubles match. In that instance, he was ejected from the singles tournament, fined an additional $40,000, forfeited the $31,570 in prize money he had accrued, and lost all ATP Rankings points from the event.