"The only way to discourage this moronic behavior is a six-figure fine" - Tennis fans react to Marc Polmans' disqualification from Shanghai Masters

Australian tennis player Marc Polmans' disqualification from the 2023 Shanghai Masters qualifiers has caused an uproar among tennis fans, as they call for stricter penalties for ball abuse violations.

Seeded fourth in the Shanghai qualifiers, Polmans was up against Italian Stefano Napolitano in the final qualifying round. The Australian was close to winning the game, having won the opening set, but faltered at the match point in the second set.

Polmans then proceeded to whack the ball in frustration, which accidentally ended up hitting the chair umpire. This incident led to the 26-year-old's immediate disqualification from what could have been his Masters 1000 main draw debut.

Several fans took to social media to have their say on the incident in Shanghai, as one fan opined that hefty fines and a year-long ban need to be imposed to discourage such behavior on the court.

"The only way to discourage this moronic behavior is a six-figure fine AND one-year ban," the user twweted.

Another user pointed out an incident in which Frenchman Hugo Gaston threw his racquet at the line umpire and was not disqualified. They believed that the players needed to be held accountable for their actions.

"100% deserved, players need to be held accountable, hope he gets a hefty fine on top of it. Gaston also threw a racquet at a line umpire yesterday and didn't even apologize, should've gotten disqualified," the user posted.

Another account posted:

"Not intentional, but 100% worthy of a disqualification. Players really need to stop hitting balls like that, whether into the crowd, toward umpires or line judges. None of them intend anything malicious, but you are inevitably going to injury someone if you keep doing it.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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Which players are competing in the Shanghai Masters 2023 main draw?

Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev at the 2023 US Open.

The Asian swing of the ATP Tour continues with the 12th edition of the Shanghai Masters, which will be held from October 4-15. The tournament returns for the first time since 2019 after being put on hold due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz are the top two seeds and will hope to mount a title charge in the absence of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

World No. 4 Holger Rune and World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas feature as the third and fourth seeds. Further down the pecking order come Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud as the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth seeds, respectively.

Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul, Hubert Hurkacz, and former World No. 1 Andy Murray are among the other players to keep an eye on.