Tennis fans want French star Hugo Gaston banned from the ATP Tour after he retired from a match just one point away from defeat, The Sun reports.
The 22-year-old, who won the Australian Open junior doubles title alongside Clement Tabur in 2018, was taking on Argentine Marco Trungelliti in Verona Challenger on Wednesday when the disgraceful incident unfolded.
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He won the first set 6-3, before Trungelliti came roaring back to claim the second 6-2.
World No. 92 Gaston then trailed 5-2 in the decider and looked set to be easily beaten.
But before Trungelliti could seal the win with what could have been the final serve of the match, Gaston remarkably decided to retire.
He walked towards the net and shook the South American’s hand, before Trungelliti lifted his arms aloft in celebration.
It goes down as a walkover victory for the Argentine, despite nearly all three sets being played.
Australian tennis player Ellen Perez claimed there must have been gambling issues behind the final point retirement.
“If you can walk to the net then you can walk to the ad court and throw in that last serve. This shouldn’t be allowed. It screams betting related issues,” Perez wrote on social media.
“Some companies give money back if matches end in retirement. It’s the only logical answer because this is just ridiculous.”
And tennis fans were also disgusted by Gaston’s behaviour.
One said: “These are the actual people in need of a long suspension.”
Another added: “Time for a nice long suspension and a huge fine!”
A third replied: “Should be banned from next tournament.”
And a fourth responded: “He’s so dedicated to taking over the ATP villain title.”
This is not the first controversial incident Gaston has been involved in this year.
In April, while facing Borna Coric at the Madrid Open, he dropped a ball onto the court while his opponent prepared to hit a shot on set point.
Despite the rules stating that the umpire should have called let, Coric’s winner was allowed and Gaston was later fined $120,000.
– This article first appeared in The Sun and was republished with permission