A tennis player was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty this week for insulting himself, and it ended up costing him a match.
During his match at the ATP Nottingham Challenger on Thursday, Britain’s Brydan Klein called himself a “stupid, stupid person” for hitting the ball into the net while trying to return a serve from his opponent, Sam Groth. Umpire Mo Layhani deemed it a violation.
Mo Layhani awarded a game penalty to Brydan Klein who called himself a "stupid person", handed Sam Groth the match (Klein's plea went on). pic.twitter.com/agUifsPunf
— Roland-Garrostapenko (@yelnats_eel) June 15, 2017
The point penalty ended up awarding Groth the game, set and match.
That may have seemed like an irrational decision from Layhani, but the judge had already assessed Klein a penalty a few points prior when Klein argued over a shot he hit wide that he believed should have been called in. As Laura Wagner of Deadspin notes, it sounded like Klein was about to insult the lineswoman when he said, “She’s a 60-year-old lady wearing like a…” before he was cut off by Layhani.
Klein was banned from tennis for six months in 2009 for racially abusing an opponent, so there is certainly some history there. The outburst may not have been as bad as some of the tennis meltdowns we’ve showed you in the past, but you can understand why the judge was on edge.
