Wimbledon star uses loophole to avoid huge fine for furious outburst

British tennis star Jack Draper avoided a heavy Wimbledon fine by targeting his own kit bag with a racket outburst against Elias Ymer on Tuesday. The 22-year-old made use of the smart loophole, with a penalty for denting the grass turf reaching up to £6,250.

Damage to the playing surfaces at SW19 carries heavy penalties as any dents could affect scheduled games that follow. According to newly released figures, six male players have been fined around £16,000 so far for “unsportsmanlike conduct” and “racket abuse” in this year’s tournament and Draper isn't listed as one of them.

BBC's host of Wimbledon, Claire Balding, hailed Draper as "sensible", before going on to explain the loophole. "Plenty of times in the past, John McEnroe among others has demanded more passion, particularly from British players," she said.

“Well there’s no doubt Draper has plenty of that, smashing the racket there onto his bag, which is quite sensible because you get fined if you damage the grass. If you damage yourself or damage your own kit then that is – albeit I guess it can be painful – not going to earn you a fine.”

Draper wasn't the only male tennis star to have a furious outburst this week. Andrey Rublev inflicted damage on himself instead of the plush green. The first-round defeat (6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6) to Francisco Comesana sparked fury inside Rublev.

So much so that he gave himself a bloodied knee. The Russian admitted the turf would've been the recipient if he was allowed to take it out on the floor.

“I would not do it if I was able to hit the racquet on the floor,” Rublev said. “Because we're not allowed to hit them with the grass. I don't know why in that moment, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to let emotions out. But thanks, everything is fine. Again, I was a bit lucky.”

Draper's run at Wimbledon was ended in the second round at the hands of a fellow Brit, Cameron Norrie. He was defeated in straight sets - a disappointing showing.

“Jack’s been playing so well and we’re such good friends off the court,” Norrie said. “We had to put that aside today. I was pretty relaxed coming in, I was happy with my level and played really physical.

“I just wanted to keep trusting my movement, my legs. I’ve put in some really good practice, the level is there, It was nice to use it today and use my experience. I was a bit nervy toward the end of the tie-break but I managed to get it done.”