American tennis star fined $10,000 for pretending to shoot an umpire – INSIDER

• Mike Bryan has been fined $10,000 by the US Open after pointing his racket at an official like a rifle.
• Bryan made the gesture during a second round doubles win over Federico Delbonis and Roberto Carballes Baena on Sunday.
• The ill-timed gesture followed a gunman killing seven people in a mass shooting in Texas.
• “I apologize for any offense I may have caused. We won the point and the gesture was meant to be playful,” Bryan told reporters after the match.
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American tennis player Mike Bryan has been fined $10,000 by the US Open after pointing his racket at an official like a rifle.

Mike Bryan, alongside his brother Bob Bryan, beat Federico Delbonis and Roberto Carballes Baena 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to secure a place in the men’s doubles third round.

The gesture happened late in the second set when Bryan challenged a call on a shot from Delbonis which landed close to the baseline.

The ball was given in, but upon review, it was shown to have fallen out by a fraction of an inch.

As the screens around the court proved Bryan’s challenge to be correct, the 41-year-old raised his racket like the barrel of a rifle and pointed it at the line judge. He then pointed his finger at chair umpire Mariana Alves and shook his head, after which the Portuguese judge quickly handed him a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Bryan pleaded innocence, however Alves made clear what the violation was for, saying in the New York Times: “You did with your racket like it was a gun. I don’t think that was appropriate.”