As news of Corentin Moutet’s $40,000 fine for using profanity following his match at Queen’s Club broke, tennis’s Jon Wertheim hit out at the “arbitrary” nature of the punishments imposed on players.
The subjective rule enforcement in tennis has long been a talking point, with a lack of transparency about fines attracting criticism.
Players Asked to Rally Against Arbitrary Nature of Fines After Corentin Moutet Penalty
Moutet was handed a $40,000 fine for swearing seven times during his post-match interview after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the HSBC Championships. The ATP cited unsportsmanlike conduct as the reason for the massive sum.
This comes in the wake of another big fine handed by the French Open organizers to Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who had claimed that a male umpire should have been in charge of his heated clash against French local Moïse Kouamé.
Wertheim, a renowned tennis journalist, believes the players should rally against these subjective fines from the tours as they continue their bid to secure a bigger share of the revenue at Grand Slams.
“Long as players are acting collectively and going after a bigger slice of the Majors’ revenue – as they should – this kind of arbitrary, unilaterally-imposed fine should be on the agenda as well,” he wrote on X.
Wertheim made it clear that he did not agree with Corentin Moutet’s behavior but called out the “unilateral” nature of the punishments handed out by tennis’s governing bodies.
“(Moutet’s behavior was) totally unacceptable… neither clever nor cute nor endearing. But this process and the arbitrary, unilateral punishment – a sexist comment at Roland Garros is $75k? F-bombs at an ATP500 are $40k? Whacking the umpire’s chair is $25k?That’s unacceptable, too,” he added.
The tennis journalist had also made a similar claim when Vallejo’s punishment was announced by the French Open organizers. He pointed out the discrepancy in punishments handed out to tennis players compared with the NBA, where players make a lot more money.
“Jaylen Brown 2026 salary: $53m. Adolfo Vallejo’s 2026 winnings: <$400k. Jaylen Brown’s fine for criticizing officials: $50k. Vallejo fine for criticizing officiating: $65k,” he wrote.
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Player incomes in tennis vary drastically, so the actual impact of fines can be devastating to those ranked outside the top 50. The fines’ ambitious nature means some players receive four-figure fines, while others are handed six-figure fines for the same offense.
The heavy punishment means that Moutet will pay more in fines than he will earn in prize money after taxes for competing at the HSBC Championships.
