John Tomic considering legal action against Tennis Australia for “Hall of Shame” misidentification

There has been yet another round of conflict between Tennis Australia and Bernard Tomic, with his father, John, considering legal action. It follows a release from the organization that misidentified Tomic as playing in the "Hall of Shame" Tennis Championships in Newport, noting his first-round match against fellow Australian John Patrick Smith in its rundown of Australians playing this week. The 23-year-old Tomic is playing the tournament as a wild card.

A correction was issued, with a statement apologizing for the error. “Tennis Australia sincerely apologises for the typo in the daily results service today,” it said. “This has now been corrected and we wish both Bernard Tomic and JP Smith all the best in the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport.

“This unfortunate error has been widely circulated on social media and there is some discussion as to how such a mistake could occur. We have a very upset staff member who made a simple clerical error. The result listing before the Hall of Fame Championships, the Sharm El Sheikh event in Egypt, won by Astra Sharma, should provide some explanation as to how this error occurred. There was no malicious intent.”

John Tomic, Bernard’s father, issued a statement to the Melbourne Age, saying, “How typically childish and arrogant of TA to permit publication of such material and then expect to get away with it. Bernard accepted his sanction in a professional manner. We have no alternative but to refer the matter to our legal people for advice.”

The episode follows existing tension between the two parties, with John Tomic criticizing Tennis Australia for not funding his daughter, Sara, and indicating he might keep Bernard Tomic from playing Davis Cup. Tomic then issued a lengthy complaint at Wimbledon, saying he had stopped receiving backing from the organization and criticizing development chief Patrick Rafter, CEO Craig Tiley and President Steven Healy. He also said he had been charged for practice courts at the Brisbane event.

Tomic was suspended from the Australian Davis Cup team for his remarks. Tennis Australia has not responded to the newest allegations.