Fabio Fognini disqualified for abusing official

Fabio Fognini argues with a line judge yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

Fiery Italian Fabio Fognini was defaulted from the Barcelona ATP tournament on Wednesday for verbally abusing a line judge. Fognini, 33, was trailing world number 147 Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-0, 4-4 when he clashed with the official and was defaulted by the umpire for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Fognini is one of only a small number of players to have been defaulted from a match. The most famous incident involved World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was disqualified from the 2020 US Open for hitting a line judge with a ball. Nick Kyrgios was also defaulted at the Rome tournament in 2019 after hurling a chair on to the court.

At the 2017 US Open, Fognini was booted out for a series of insults aimed at a female chair umpire.

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