Tennis star Mike Bryan was fined $10,000 for pointing his racket at a line judge — as if he were shooting a gun — during his US Open match at Flushing Meadows on Saturday night.
The move, which was caught on video, came just hours after seven people were killed and more than 20 others wounded during a shooting rampage in Odessa, Texas.
Bryan was playing in a doubles match with his twin brother, Bob, when he made the gesture.
The duo had been trailing by a set and had just challenged a lob that had been called in by the line judge — in favor of their opponents, Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain and Federico Delbonis of Argentina. A replay review showed that the ball had in fact landed out, and Bryan chose to express his frustration with his racket.
Placing the head on his shoulder, the six-time men’s doubles champ was caught on video pointing the handle towards the judge as if it were the barrel of a gun. He “aims” the racket and pretends to shoot.
“This guy should not be allowed on a tennis court at least professionally ever again because of this,” wrote a Twitter user.
“If Serena does that she is fired of match,” another said.
Bryan wound up being fined $10,000 for his actions — the largest men’s fine, so far, at this year’s US Open.
“We thought it warranted that amount,” said Brendan McIntyre, a US Tennis Association spokesman, in a statement.
The violation didn’t sit well with Bryan, who questioned it immediately while on the court at Flushing Meadows.
“Just tell me what I did real quick?” he could be heard asking after getting hit with the call. “What was the gesture?”
Alves replied, “The gesture that you did. You did it to the line umpire and did it to me. You did with your racket like it was a gun. I don’t think that was appropriate.”
Bryan later apologized for the move, saying he was sorry “for any offense” it may have caused.
“We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful,” he said in a statement.“But given the recent news and political climate I understand how my gesture could be viewed as insensitive. I promise that I will never do anything like this again.”
Some social media users were pointing out how Argentinian tennis star Juan Martín del Potro made a similar gesture during a match in 2016 and received no fine.
“Ok whelp they missed that one I guess. Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do the right thing this time,” a person tweeted.
The Bryans went on to win their match on Saturday 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. They will play in the round of 16 on Monday against Jackson Withrow and Jack Sock.
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