Tennis Star David Nalbandian Insists His Disqualification is Unfair but Still Apologizes for His Behavior

David Nalbandian is still in disbelief after he was disqualified after accidentally injuring a judge during the Queen’s Club Final Match on Sunday.

What happened?

Nalbandian actually won the first set of the final and was only behind in the 2^nd set when he blew up.  He lost his serve, then fell behind 3-4.  He then missed a running forehand for game point.  Still running towards the sidelines he kicks a small advertising board that was placed under the chair of one of the judges.  BLAM!  The board hits the judge in the shins which is painful enough, but to make things worse, it actually cut into the judge leaving his leg cut and bloody.

According to ATP rules Nalbandian was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.  As a result of his disqualification he also had to forfeit his prize money of 36,100 pounds ($56,579) and 150 ranking points for reaching the final at Queen’s. He apologized to the crowd and McDougall after the outburst. He was also issued a 10,000 euro ($12,623) fine by ATP supervisor Tom Barnes for unsportsmanlike behavior.

There was no choice, as the decision was automatic.  It was clearly an accident and Nalbandian’s opponent did not want to win like this, nor did the crowd want to see the match end like this but the rules are the rules.  Nalbandian did not mean to injure the judge at all and apologized to the crowd,

I’m very sorry, I’m very sorry to do that, But sometimes you get very frustrated here, on court, and it’s tough to control that. And sometimes I do mistake — I agree with that. So it’s a very tough moment to end a final like that. But sometimes we feel so much pressure from the ATP, trying to play a lot of tournaments.”

There were rumors that this would cause Nalbandian to lose some sponsorship but no one has pulled out yet.  His list of sponsors include: racket manufacturer Yonex, French beauty brand Guinot and Argentine insurance company Rio Uruguay Cooperativa De Seguros Limitada.  He has earned 11 Million dollars since his career started in 2000.

Here is a Video Clip of Nalbandian kicking the sign into the judges shin: