Stan Wawrinka set to be fined by Yonex for breaking racquet on court

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Stan Wawrinka is likely to receive a fine from racquet manufacturer Yonex for breaking a racquet during the second set of his Australian Open semi-final clash against Roger Federer on Thursday. Yonex has introduced a clause in the contracts of its clients against smashing racquets during matches.

The Japanese manufacturer has inserted a controversial clause, first of its kind in tennis, where the players will be stripped a chunk of their retainer for every racquet they smash on the court. Yonex had already fined 11 players in the first three days of the Australian Open for racquet and equipment violations.

The list includes Nick Kyrgios, who had smashed a racquet during his five-set loss to Andreas Seppi in the second round last week. American tennis star Coco Vandeweghe was also reprimanded for throwing the racquet during her win over Eugenie Bouchard in the third round of the women’s singles.

Now, Swiss No.1 Stan Wawrinka is likely to face the brunt after the 31-year-old bent and broke his racquet over his knee after Roger Federer broke him and won the second set to go 2-0 up in the semi-final encounter at the Rod Laver Arena. Wawrinka later went on to lose the match in five sets.

Yonex is of the view that these incidents hurt their brand image but are yet to release an official statement regarding this new clause. Although, these fines are unlikely to affect their relationship with the top-ranked players in the world, the younger and lowly ranked players could suffer huge losses as they struggle for every penny to survive in the circuit.

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