Tomic pays price after his confession

LONDON — Bernard Tomic was fined $15,000 at Wimbledon and dropped by his racket sponsor Thursday — not for something he did during his first-round loss, but for what he said during a news conference afterward.

The penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct was announced two days after the 24-year-old Australian was beaten by Mischa Zverev 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, then spoke to the media about feeling “a little bit bored out there.”

Tomic also said Tuesday that he “just couldn’t find any motivation” to compete this year and acknowledged that when he called for a medical timeout against Zverev, he did so not because of an injury issue but to “try to break a bit of momentum.”

Racket-maker Head issued a statement via its Twitter feed saying: “We were extremely disappointed with the statements made at Wimbledon by one of our sponsored athletes, Bernard Tomic. His opinions in no way reflect our own attitude for tennis, our passion, professionalism and respect for the game.”

The statement concluded: “Therefore, we have decided to discontinue our collaboration with Bernard Tomic.”

The fine amounts to more than a third of Tomic’s prize money: First-round losers at the All England Club this year earn about $45,000.

Hantuchova retires: Longtime WTA Tour player Daniela Hantuchova announced her retirement from competition.

“I want to tell you with all my appreciation and happiness inside of me, that the time has come to retire from professional tennis,” Hantuchova, of Slovakia, wrote on her Facebook account. “Being part of the WTA, ITF, the Slovak Fed Cup and Olympic team has been the biggest blessing and privilege.”

Hantuchova, 34, was ranked as high as No. 5 and won seven titles. She was an Australian Open semifinalist in 2008 and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.