Italian calls female ump a ‘whore’
Fognini tossed from tourney
Fabio Fognini was booted from the U.S. Open after calling a female umpire a ‘whore’ in Italian, representing another lowpoint for the hottempered Italian.
During his opening round defeat Wednesday to Stefano Travaglia, Fognini was heard hurling insults in Italian at ump Louise Engzell.
As a result, Fognini was fined for three violations totaling $24,000 and was “provisionally suspended” from the Open on Saturday. The 30-year-old then withdrew from the doubles tournament, where he and partner Simone Bolelli were scheduled to play in the third round.
Fognini’s verbal assault on the umpire was picked up by microphones, and he had previously issued a half-hearted apology on Twitter.
“First of all I would like to apologize to you fans, to the referee for what happened. It was just a very bad day, but it did not forgive my behavior in the match,” he wrote. “Although I’m a hot-head — and though I’ve been right in most circumstances — I was wrong. But in the end it’s only a tennis game.”
In 2014, Fognini was fined $27,500 at Wimbledon for his outbursts in a first-round victory. That same year in a separate tournament, he apologized after calling his Serbian opponent a “gypsy s---.”
If Fognini is ruled to have committed a “major offense,” then he could be hit with a $250,000 fine and could be permanently banned from Grand Slam tournaments.
Fognini is married to 2015 U.S. Open champ Flavia Pennetta, and the couple announced the birth of their first baby in May.