A friendly gesture with Kyrgios costs Layhani heavy

The umpire Mohamed Lahyani has been suspended for the following two scheduled tournaments in the ATP tennis after the umpire attempted to root, the Australian, Nick Kyrgios during a match at the Flushing Meadows. It was a friendly gesture from Lahyani’s end. Kyrgios was a set and 3-0 down in the match. Layhani left his chair and had a pep talk with Kyrgios during his second round in the US Open against Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He encouraged the Australian to do well.  

Kyrgios did change the outcome of the match and distressed his opponent, Herbert. Later, Herbert had a notion that the action portrayed by the chair umpire was incorrect. The US Open officials, later claimed Lahyani “went beyond protocol”. However, after emphasising to “adhere to proper protocols” he continued to do his duties for the entire tournament.

The ATP executive vice-president of rules and competition Gayle David Bradshaw has high regards for Lahyani. He says,  “world-class and highly-respected official”, focusing on the issue he added “his actions during the match crossed a line that compromised his own impartiality as a chair umpire. Although well-intended, his actions were regrettable and cannot go without disciplinary action on our own tour. We know that he will learn from this experience and we look forward to welcoming him back in October.”

The chief unit, ATP after administering their internal review gave a statement that, that Lahyani is one of seven full-time umpires on the tour. He won’t chair umpire the next two Chinese ATP events, Beijing Open and the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The official statement which declared that Lahyani will resume work at the Intrum Stockholm Open in October. Although, his disciplinary behaviour with Kyrgios took place under the jurisdiction of the United States Tennis Association. However, due to his full-time employment, ATP would decide the consequences. 

The statement was as follows, “Lahyani will return to work at the Intrum Stockholm Open in October. Despite the incident taking place at the US Open, under the jurisdiction of the United States Tennis Association, the incident was still subject to ATP disciplinary action due to Lahyani’s position as a full-time ATP employee and the high standards the ATP requires of its chair umpires, regardless of the event to which he or she is assigned, in order to maintain the integrity of the tour.”