Svyatoslav Gulin has spoken out after he was disqualified during his M25 Sabadell clash with Alejo Sanchez Quilez. The Russian tennis player appeared to make an obscene gesture towards the umpire despite being just two games away from securing the win.
The No. 6 seed was defaulted with the score at 7-5 3-6 4-0 at the Spanish ITF event, and he reportedly has already been hit with a fine and is waiting to learn about whether any further retrospective action will be taken against him.
After securing a double-break advantage, Gulin turned to the umpire and yelled whilst pointing to his groin. He then continued to make gestures and mutter as he walked back to the baseline, but the incident was quickly addressed and the Russian was defaulted after a short conversation between the official and both players.
Gulin has now revealed in an interview with a Russian sports site that after the match he ‘grabbed the umpire by the throat and shouted at him’, which could see him handed an extended suspension.
Asked about what prompted his outburst, Gulin explained: “The referee made a really bad decision two plays ago. And after that, my nerves gave out – and I just snapped. I hit the court, and the judge said it was out – although the ball hit really hard. After that, I won the game and couldn’t hold back my emotions.”
Speaking about his emotions before being told of his disqualification, he added: “At first I thought I would get a warning, so I even went to the towel to continue playing. But the opponent insisted on disqualification – and three minutes later I got it. So I was very angry.
“I just couldn’t hold back my emotions and told the judge this. I thought I didn’t say it, but then the video showed that I told him directly. Unfortunately.”
Gulin has been handed a 2000 euro fine as a result of his gesture and he is waiting to hear from the ITF about additional punishments – with any severe penalties expected to prompt the world No. 407 to weigh up whether to walk away from the world of tennis entirely.
He concluded: “If I get banned, then maybe I’ll quit. Now we are waiting for the verdict. I still need to process everything. It will take me 3-4 days to understand what is happening to me. The ITF will make a decision.”