Star tennis player Frances Tiafoe threw a temper tantrum following Tuesday's 'Round of 32' loss to Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters. That is to say, Tiafoe evidently was upset over a controversial call that was made by the umpire earlier in the match, and he let his emotions boil over as soon as it ended.
Videos by FanBuzz
Immediately after telling Safiullin good game, he repeatedly started yelling, "f*** you" to the chair umpire, Jimmy Pinoargote.
the drama at the end of the tiafoe/safiullin match pic.twitter.com/HftfltXHew
— emily (@sportyandhot) October 8, 2024
"F*** you man, f*** you! Seriously man, f*** you," Tiafoe shouted, while the crowd could be heard laughing.
In view of the situation in question, the match was tied 5-5 and during the third set Pinoargote called a time violation on Tiafoe's first serve.
This led to the 26-year-old star defending himself.
this was the initial time violation warning Frances received towards the end of set 2 which he also disagreed with. the ump calls the warning as soon as the clock hits 0 although Tiafoe is about to toss the ball.
thoughts? pic.twitter.com/YOtLygDjKl
— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) October 8, 2024
Tiafoe was heard saying, "No, no, no... I tossed the ball up!"
And he kept repeating this phrase over and over, pleading his case that he served the ball up before being handed the time violation.
To note, the player must serve within the 25-second time frame.
"Dude, that's the rule!" Tiafoe continued. "The ball goes up, how am I not ready to serve?"
The umpire did not engage, and simply responded, "second serve."
This led to No. 17 ranked Tiafoe losing the next two points and the match to No. 61 ranked Safiullin (5-7 7-5 7-6(5))
"You f***ed me the f***ing match. Three f***ing hours, I'm f***ing out here battling for my livelihood," Tiafoe was audibly heard saying to Pinoargote after shaking hands with his opponent.
The most likely consequence of Tiafoe's verbal outburst will result in $60k fine, (per ATP rules).
Ultimately, Tiafoe regretted the way he reacted, as he posted an apology on Instagram.
Francis Tiafoe apologies to the umpire, the tournament, and the fans for the way he acted on court during his match against Safiullin. He said the following on Instagram:
“I really apologize for the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat… pic.twitter.com/4gOhCMupna
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) October 8, 2024
"I really apologize for the way I acted tonight. That is not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people," Tiafoe wrote on his IG story.
Related: Coco Gauff In Tears Arguing With Umpire Over Controversial Call Leading To Olympic Exit
