Marc Polmans was eliminated from the Shanghai Masters qualifying round after smashing a ball into the air that struck the umpire in the face. Polmans had Stefano Napolitano down by one point when he missed a volley. He took the ball in frustration and threw it into the air before it landed on the chair umpire.
Polmans was abruptly dropped from the qualifying round on Tuesday in Shanghai, which caused controversy. In the second set tiebreak, the Australian was up 6-5 on Napolitano’s serve and faced a match point, but he wasted it by throwing the ball into the net.
Players are forbidden from hitting a tennis ball in anger under the ATP code of conduct, even if it misses a match official. Polmans will also lose any prizes and ranking points he earned during the qualification event after defeating Alibek Kachmazov in his opening match.
The ATP rule says: “Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball while on the grounds of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match including warm-up.”
Polmans in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2023
Now the world no.140, Marc has managed to achieve a composed 40-28 record in 2023. The Australian is participating in Shanghai where he ousted the world no.315 Alibek Kachmazov 3-6 6-3 7-63 and the world no.253 Stefano Napolitano 7-63 6-6.