Lleyton Hewitt suspended after pushing volunteer

Lleyton Hewitt has been handed a two-week suspension and $30,000 fine after pushing an anti-doping chaperone in Malaga last year.

The Australian grand slam champion was found guilty by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for pushing the 60-year-old volunteer against a wall during Australia’s semi-final defeat against Italy.

An insider close to the Hewitt family says the whole ordeal has caused tensions behind the scenes.

“Bec will be at her wits end with this latest round of drama… she is almost always the one who smooths the waters when her family ends up back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. She knows her husband better than anyone and while Lleyton fought the claims, she would be telling him to cop the punishment on the chin, and get on with it,” the source spilled.

“The real fear here is that Bec would be genuinely concerned Tennis Australia could now review Lleyton’s role with our Davis Cup team — they’re a young and impressionable group of players who all look to Lleyton as a role model.”

“If, in fact, his job as coach is in jeopardy, that’s the sort of stuff that really upsets Bec… when her husband’s integrity is questioned… because she knows what a good man he really is. She’ll stand by him as she usually does.”

The independent tribunal has suggested that $10,000 of the fine should be passed on to the volunteer “in compensation for the stress, discomfort and embarrassment of the incident”.

Despite the suspension – and Bec’s fears – the 44-year-old is still allowed to captain Australia at this weekend’s Davis Cup in Sydney.

The ITIA initially pushed for a four-week suspension and a $37,500 fine, noting that “there was no apology or check on the well-being of the chaperone”.

The tribunal also pointed out that the former tennis player showed “no remorse” for his actions and had a history of misconduct including “five prior incidents of offensive conduct toward tennis officials and non-compliance with tennis rules”.

“Anti-doping personnel play a fundamental role behind the scenes in upholding the integrity of tennis, and they should be able to go about their roles without fear of physical contact,” ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said in a statement.

“In this case, that line was clearly crossed, and we had no other option but to take action.”

Lleyton has confirmed he will appeal the decision: “I’m just really disappointed about the overall decision, but also whole process, to be honest. The lack of facts that have been put out,” said the former world No.1. “But I’ll be going through the appeal process with my legal team so I won’t be talking about it further.”

This is not the first time the Hewitt family have found themselves in hot water after losing their cool on the court.

In July, 16-year-old Cruz snapped at his famous father during his second-round boys’ singles defeat at Wimbledon.

Cruz lost his temper at Lleyton and his support team when the match started slipping away and accused his father of “acting for the cameras”.

When Lleyton then tried to offer another piece of advice, Cruz snapped back with “I tried that!”.

In the second set, his team tried to calm him down by saying “everything is fine” to which he replied “It’s not fine — it’s nearly 4-0!”

Lleyton’s suspension will start in two weeks and run from September 24 until October 7.

During that time, the tennis coach won’t be able to take part in “all tennis-related activities, including coaching, mentoring, playing, captaincy and other associated roles”.

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