Heather Watson labelled a Wimbledon line judge “pathetic” and a “snitch” after the fuming Briton was reported for swearing in her doubles match on Wednesday.
Watson and partner Tatjana Maria were docked a penalty point in their Wimbledon quarterfinal loss against Czech pair Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova after the official accused the Briton of foul language.
That followed an earlier warning for hitting the ball off the court in the 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 defeat.
Watson fiercely denied the language accusation, even getting the crowd to back her up, but it fell on deaf ears as umpire Kader Nouni imposed the penalty.
“I just went like that (hand clenched in front of face), and then said, 'Stupid', really loud,” Watson said.
“And then he has gone up and told the referee that I said 'F*****g stupid'. And I asked everybody behind me out loud, 'What did you hear me say?'. And everybody said, 'Stupid'.
“I just think it's really pathetic. It's like there is no point in it. You have got people in all different languages swearing constantly all the time.
“I think it is a poor choice from him. It's just unfair.
“It's literally like a snitch running to the front of the class saying, 'I heard her say this!'. I think it is so stupid.”
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