"I would have thrown your appeal in the bin" - Former umpire chastises Andrey Rublev for 'zero remorse' apology after Dubai disqualification

Former umpire Richard Ings recently gave his two cents on Andrey Rublev's statement regarding his disqualification from the semifinal match at last week's Dubai Tennis Championships.

The World No. 5 invited plenty of controversy during his semifinal match in Dubai against Alexander Bublik on Friday (March 1), as he was shockingly defaulted at 6-5 down in the third set following an altercation with a line judge.

Andrey Rublev allegedly called the latter a 'f***ing moron*, which prompted the tournament supervisor to award the match to his opponent. Moreover, the Dubai organizers also docked him ranking points and the prize money he had earned at the ATP 500 tournament.

The Russian, however, immediately appealed to the ATP that his ranking points and prize money be reinstated. He subsequently released a lengthy statement on his social media handle on Wednesday (March 4), where he thanked the men's governing body for overturning the Dubai organizers' decision.

"I want to thank the appeal committee for approving my appeal and changing course on the ATP's initial decision of disqualifying me from the Dubai semifinal and taking away the rankings points and prize money I earned last week," Andrey Rublev wrote on his X handle.

Former umpire Richard Ings spoke out against the World No. 5 on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (March 5). He denounced the 26-year-old for 'gross misconduct' towards the line umpire while claiming that he would've personally thrown the Russian's appeal 'in the bin'.

"No public apology for his gross misconduct towards the defenseless line umpire. Walking up screaming, poking his racket near the line umpire's face. Unconscionable misconduct and zero remorse," Ings wrote on his X handle. "I would have thrown your appeal in the bin and backed the on-court officials."

---

Umpire who spoke out against Andrey Rublev previously defended Carlos Ramos after Serena Williams called him sexist

Serena Williams argues with Carlos Ramos at the 2018 US Open

Richard Ings, who was the head of officiating on the ATP Tour in 2001-05, has a history of coming out in support of his former colleagues. The former umpire had defended veteran umpire Carlos Ramos from sexist allegations after he handed Serena Williams an on-court coaching violation during her 2018 US Open final defeat to Naomi Osaka.

"He handled that match absolutely perfectly. He saw violations and he had the courage of his convictions to call them when he saw them," Ings said in 2018 (via Sport360). "I support him 110 percent. It was one of the best officiating jobs that I’ve seen in years."

Andrey Rublev, meanwhile, is seemingly not bogged down by the controversy about his on-court behavior in Dubai. The 26-year-old has already flown to Palm Springs for this week's Indian Wells Masters. He will be eager to improve on his career-best result at the ATP Masters 1000 event — a semifinal loss in 2022.