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Australian ATP player John Millman called ATP's decision to fine Hugo Gaston 133.000 euros a "weird flex" because the fine, in his opinion, was way higher compared to what Hugo Gaston did – showing repetitive unsportsmanlike conduct on the court.
"Gaston did something stupid. A €133,000 from the ATP though is ridiculous. You see worse things on a weekly basis. What a weird flex," Millman wrote on Twitter. "Players who have been caught doping, abusing ball kids, officials etc get smaller fines than this… behavior wasn’t good but we’re kidding ourselves if this is consistent with other offenses." To place the fine in context, Hugo Gaston's prize money in 2023 so far is $121,712.
The €133.000 fine translates to $143.763.
Why did Hugo Gaston get the fine
ATP fined Hugo Gaston with mouth-opening €133,000 fine because of his behavior during the Madrid Masters. The Frenchman attempted to influence the outcome of a particular point against Borna Coric in the Spanish tournament.
Borna hit a smash on his set point, and Hugo took a ball from his pocket and dropped it to the ground, trying to replay a point. Here is the video of the moment.
But as our reporter Jovica Ilic previously covered, Gaston has been in ATP's target for a while now.😳 Wouah les images qui crucifie Hugo Gaston qui délibérément lâche une balle et l’indique en plus pour que le point soit rejoué.
C’est du pur anti jeu! Alors oui l’amende est élevée mais le geste est d’une laideur extrême. Et il l’avait déjà fait. C’te honte. pic.twitter.com/Epk6bxd5Yd — Benoit Maylin (@BenoitMaylin) May 22, 2023
"Gaston did the same thing last year, and the ATP warned him what would happen if he repeated that. Unsportsmanlike conduct offenses at the Masters 1000 events can earn you a fine of up to $60,000. It doubles if the same violation happens again within the same calendar year, and it's what happened with Gaston, who will have to pay a massive price for his acts," Jovica writes.