Bernard Tomic has vowed to lodge another appeal against his Wimbledon fine, pledging to donate any recovered prize money to an Australian charity.
The world number 103 lost his initial appeal against the Grand Slam Board’s decision to strip him of his first round prize money at Wimbledon for failing to “perform to the required professional standard”.
Tomic lost 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 56 minutes, which was the quickest men’s singles match at Wimbledon since 2004.
'I care about the right thing for players in the future'
In an email obtained by the New York Times, the Australian’s appeal fell on deaf ears due to his “historical record of misconduct at Grand Slam” which “provides little justification for an adjustment”.
He told the New York Times: “I don’t care about this 25 percent [the portion of the fine he would receive back should he follow the rules at future Grand Slams]. I care about the right thing for players in the future."
The appeal comes in the wake of the successful overturn of Anna Tatishvili’s fine at the French Open. The Georgian was docked her entire first round prize money of $52,000 at Roland Garros after a 6-0, 6-1 loss to Maria Sakkari.
Tatishvili was competing in her first event since 2017 after a lengthy injury absence – entering via a protected ranking – with the Grand Slam Board reversing their decision upon a “heightened point-by-point review”.
The rule was introduced to prevent players who are unable to compete to the maximum of their ability from occupying a space in the draw and collecting the first round prize pot that could have otherwise gone to a player lingering just below the main draw cut-off.
Instead, players whose ranking merits a spot in the main draw of a Grand Slam event are encouraged to withdraw prior to the start of the tournament and the first round prize money will be split between themselves and their replacement in the draw.