French Open 2022: ‘It’s not a good look for the sport’ - Tim Henman on Andrey Rublev outburst

Tim Henman has warned players they have to control their temper, after Andrey Rublev hit a ball in anger at the French Open which was described as “not a good look for the sport”. The Russian smashed a ball into his bench next to the umpire’s chair during his first round win over Kwon Soon-woo and was fortunate it did not fly up to hit a ball kid or an official. Ad/> “You don’t want to be hitting balls in anger and hitting ball kids, that can be an expensive mistake, as I found out in 1995…”, Henman told Eurosport, referring to his unfortunate disqualification at Wimbledon 27 years ago.

/> Roland-GarrosPaula Badosa — Fiona Ferro — Roland-Garros Highlights24 MINUTES AGO It is the latest example of poor behaviour on a court, the most high profile of which centred around Alexander Zverev, who repeatedly smashed his racquet into the umpire’s chair in Acapulco three months ago. “We see these things more and more these days”, said Eurosport presenter Barbara Schett, and Henman agrees it needs to stop. “We have seen probably a little bit too much frustration that is almost endangering other people on court.

The code of conduct has to be followed, the players have to be responsible for their actions,” he said. “When you see a player break a racquet, you’re not going to condone it, but it’s not affecting anything else. When you start hitting balls around, it can get dangerous for others.

We saw Zverev hitting the umpire’s chair, it’s not a good look for the sport”. Schett says Rublev was fortunate the ball did not hit anyone, or he would likely have been disqualified. Alex Corretja, who reached the final at Roland-Garros twice, believes players are reflecting society as a whole — which he feels has become generally more on edge