Anyone who plays tennis is far from being a racquet type.

If you think so.

However, there are currently more and more men on the professional tour who not only play with their racket in a playful way, but also use it as a weapon, whether intentionally or not.

For too long, freaks out against referees and ball children have been accepted as unwelcome exceptions and punished with comparatively manageable fines.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that one or the other choleric like Nick Kyrgios sees himself as part of a tennis show that is tolerated, if not desired.

Quasi as heir to John McEnroes, whose outbursts of anger are fondly remembered today by many who were not among the victims at the time.

All this bullshit has to end now.

Leg just missed

Here is a small but not fine summary of the first three months of the tennis year: Alexander Zverev hits the referee's chair and narrowly misses the referee's leg;

the American Brooksby angrily throws the bat away and nearly hits a ball kid;

Australia's Kyrgios carelessly tosses his racquet at a ball kid, incessantly insults the referee and relentlessly utters obscenities;

the Canadian Shapovalov accuses a referee of being "corrupt", the Russian Medvedev asks a referee how "stupid" he is and calls him "a kitten".

Many former champions and other observers have long been calling for such behavior to be punished more severely and not to let someone like Zverev get away with eight weeks of probation, but also to ban them for weeks or even months.

Only the light yellow card

Now the professional association ATP has finally reacted and sent at least a minimum warning to the players: Please don't continue like this, so tougher action will be considered and the catalog of penalties will be put to the test.

The tennis professionals see a light yellow card, so to speak - does the ATP dare to draw red and temporarily remove one of their train numbers from the game?

Either way, long-suffering must end.

Above all, ATP and tournament organizers must no longer leave the referees alone.

So far, the referees can do little against bullying on the pitch.

That's why there should be a clear list of penalties for freaks out, like for violating the time limit between serves.

First a warning and then points are deducted - or disqualification as soon as a thrown club endangers a person.

Warnings and fines are apparently not enough to bring all tennis professionals to their senses.