'I LOST MY MIND': Andrey Rublev Blasts ball in rage hits ground staff at the French Open

Rublev's dangerous reaction elicited a code violation at Roland-Garros during a match against Kwon Soon-woo out on Court 14. He whacked a ball in anger which struck his chair and then shot up narrowly avoiding the court-sweeper as his cap fell off. After conceding the opening tie-break in the first-round match, the seventh seed lost his calm. It led to an outrage among his fans, who let out a chorus of boos, and he reacted with more anger by throwing a bottle on the floor, causing it to crack and spill water onto the court. He received a warning for the incident but ranted at the umpire instead. 

Rublev expresses regret for his latest French Open debacle

He spoke about the incident in his post-match press conference and blamed it on his tiredness in the first set. He admitted to having tried to control his emotion and see the positive side of the situation. He yielded breakpoints and made mistakes that set him off on a shocking tangent. He expressed regret over his action and deemed it unacceptable. He said he could have hit the racquet because the ball could affect someone. Rublev takes accountability for displaying unprofessional behavior and hopes never to do it again. The incident has been recorded as the latest one involving an ATP Tour player in recent months. Other instances that recall violent moments on the court include Alexander Zverev striking an umpire's chair in an aggressive showdown in Acapulco.

Are such players disrespecting the sport by evading stricter punishment?

Zverev was understandably suspended for eight weeks and fined £19,000 for attacking the umpire's chair with his racquet at the Mexican Open. Many people thought the punishment could have been stricter as it was one of the most shocking incidents in tennis history. Another incident involved Nick Kyrgios smashing his racquet on the court after losing to Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells. The act almost injured a ball boy, but the tennis star was not punished for the deed. Similarly, Ienson Brooksby avoided a default at the Miami Open after flinging his racquet down in rage as it hit a ball boy on foot. He only received a point penalty in response because it didn't cause an injury. Rublev's ill-timed aggression that almost injured the court-sweeper is the newest incident that scarred the sport's remarkable record.