Alexander Zverev has been "withdrawn" from the singles competition at the Mexican Open in Acapulco after attacking the umpire's chair at the end of his defeat in the doubles.
Zverev and Brazil's Marcelo Melo were in a super tie-break against Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara when they were angered by a call made by the umpire.
A return on Melo's serve seemed to be called out by a line judge, but the umpire overruled the decision to put Glasspool and Heliovaara 9-6 up and give them match point, a subsequent ace ending the match in their favour.
As the pairs shook hands at the net afterwards, Zverev quickly walked off and smashed his racquet against the umpire's chair three times.
He then shouted at the umpire that he had "destroyed the whole f****** match" before striking the chair once more.
Zverev was due to face Peter Gojowczyk in the second round of the singles, but the ATP Tour confirmed the Olympic champion has been removed from the draw.
A brief statement read: "Due to unsportsmanlike conduct at the conclusion of his doubles match on Tuesday night, Alexander Zverev has been withdrawn from the tournament in Acapulco."
Russell hits back at 'bully' Verstappen as Qatar row escalates
George Russell said "someone needs to stand up a bully like this" as his ugly row with Max Verstappen from the Qatar Grand Prix escalated.
Red Bull driver Verstappen qualified fastest in Qatar but was later demoted a spot after being given a rare grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly and impeding Mercedes' Russell in qualifying.
Four-time world champion Verstappen later said he had "lost all respect" for the British driver, accusing Russell of essentially setting out to earn him a demotion in the stewards room.
Russell has now reacted to the explosive comments in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the season-ending Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and accused the Dutchman of threatening to intentionally crash into him in an X-rated retort.
"What he was doing was pretty clear. He was going too slow. He was on the racing line, and we all had the rules to follow, and he didn't follow it," Russel began.
"I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says 'I'm going to purposely crash into you, I'm going to put you on your f****** head in the wall'.
"For me, that is unacceptable, and he's gone beyond the line here, and I'm not going to accept it.
"So somebody's got to stand up to a guy like this before it gets out of control."
Verstappen is reported to have denied the allegation to the Dutch media.
Russell added when asked what further steps he would want to take: "I don't want to go to the stewards' office.
"I had no intention of bringing this up. He said this to me on Saturday night and I woke up on Sunday morning feeling fine. But to come out of those press interviews saying that I'm two-faced, I'm the f-word, and this and that, he's taking this personal.
"What happens on track is professional, what happens in the stewards' is professional, and like Carlos [Sainz] said to him on Sunday morning, 'you would have done the exact same thing'.
"On Sunday in the race he lifted for a yellow, Lando [Norris, who received a penalty which took him out of the fight for the race victory] doesn't lift for a yellow, and he says to the team 'check what Lando does'.
"That's not personal against Lando, that is just racing. I've known Max for 12 years. I respected him all this time, but now I have lost respect for him. We are all fighting on track, and it's never personal," he added.
"Now he's made it personal and someone needs to stand up to a bully like this - and so far people are letting him get away with murder."
Djokovic: Murray is 'perfect' coach to help execute 'big plans'
Novak Djokovic believes former rival Andy Murray is the "perfect" coach for him at this stage of his career as he still has "big plans".
The Serb, a 24-time grand slam winner, announced last week that Murray, who retired after the Paris Olympics, would be working with him during the off-season and through the Australian Open.
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in August. It is also the first time since 2005 that he did not win an ATP event despite reaching two finals.
Djokovic admitted Murray did not agree to the role straight away, but he thinks it is the best decision he could have come to.
"I took about six months to figure out what I needed at this stage of my career," he told Sky Sports.
"I realised the perfect coach would be someone who has been through the experiences I'm going through, possibly a multiple grand slam winner and world number one.
"We discussed Andy Murray, and I said I would give him a call and see how it goes. It caught him a little off guard. We connected really fast, and he accepted after a few days.
"I couldn't be more excited about it. This collaboration is a surprise to everyone, including me, but it's exciting for tennis."
Djokovic is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player and needs one more to become the outright leader.
He has a good record in Australia, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals, with the first major of next season starting on January 12.
The 37-year-old is the only one of the 'Big Four' still playing after Murray and Rafael Nadal's retirements this year, and Roger Federer's in 2022, but he shows no signs of stopping any time soon.
"We all know we have to stop and say goodbye at some point," he added. "Even though it was expected for Rafa and Andy, both of them saying farewell to the sport is a shock for all of us.
"My body is serving me well; I still have motivation to win grand slams. The reason I asked Andy to work with me is because I still have big plans.
"I'll keep going as much as I can feel like I can keep being a candidate for the biggest titles."
Halep questions 'big difference' in doping punishments after Swiatek ban
Simona Halep has hit out at the "big difference" in how doping cases are handled in tennis after Iga Swiatek was handed a one-month ban on Thursday.
World number two Swiatek accepted the one-month suspension after testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Halep, meanwhile, was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after testing positive for roxadustat and later banned for four years in September 2023.
The ban was then reduced to nine months after the Romanian's appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in March this year.
"I stand and ask myself, why is there such a big difference in treatment and judgement?" Halep posted on Instagram.
"I can't find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer. It can only be bad will from ITIA, the organisation that has done absolutely everything to destroy me despite the evidence."
While reducing Swiatek's ban, the ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin which the five-time Grand Slam champion took for jet lag and sleep issues.
Halep, 33, had also argued that she had taken a contaminated supplement.
"I lost two years of my career, I lost many nights when I couldn't sleep, thoughts, anxiety, questions without answers," Halep said.
"How is it possible that in identical cases happening around the same time, ITIA to have completely different approaches to my detriment?"
Meanwhile, the ITIA has said that there were "very important differences" between the two cases.
"No two cases are the same, they often involve different circumstances, and direct comparisons are not always helpful," the ITIA told BBC Sport.
"The product contaminated in Ms Swiatek's case was a regulated medication, not a supplement."
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