The PPA Tour announced following the OGIO Newport Beach Shootout that Pablo Tellez had been fined for directing an obscene hand gesture at a group of fans on Saturday, April 22nd.
The event took place on Championship Court after Pablo Tellez and Federico Staksrud finished their round of 16 match against James Ignatowich and Tyson McGuffin.
Tellez and the fans had exchanged some words throughout the match and the audience had received an official warning from Head Referee Don Stanley to stay quiet during points.
Upon the match’s conclusion, Tellez approached the group of fans and had a short interaction, during which the hand gesture took place. Some moments after, when Tellez went to leave the court, the fans engaged with Tellez again and a verbal exchange took place. PPA staff members intervened between the two parties at this point and removed the group of fans from the area.
Tellez spoke about the incident the following day after taking the bronze medal alongside partner Federico Staksrud.
“It was a very heated match, a lot of emotions on both sides. I apologize to everyone, I should not have reacted the way I did, and I will do better in the future.”
A representative at the PPA Tour responded to the event, saying:
“We love to see our athletes compete with emotion and passion, but want to ensure that energy is confined to the court and expressed in positive ways. We are taking the necessary steps to improve player experience and safety as the sport continues to grow, evolve, and attract devoted fans.”
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