Yonex, the racquet sponsor of Nick Kyrgios, has introduced a controversial contract clause that entitles the manufacturer to strip a chunk out of their clients' retainer for every racquet smashed.
In a revolutionary move that has been met with some resistance from its clients, Yonex remains hellbent on maintaining a clean image and has moved to stop its players from smashing racquets on courts around the world.
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Nick Kyrgios throws racquet
Nick Kyrgios of Australia lost in five sets to Italian veteran Andreas Seppi, on day three of the 2017 Australian Open at Melbourne Park.
Yonex's highest profile clients include women's world No.1 Angelique Kerber, three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka as well as Australia's Daria Gavrilova and Kyrgios.
Over the first three days of the Australian Open, 11 players were fined for racquet and equipment violations, including the 21-year-old Kyrgios in his five-set loss to Andreas Seppi on Wednesday night.
It's unclear whether Kyrgios has renewed or extended his contract with Yonex since the company slowly began implementing the clause on all of its clients' contracts at the end of last year.
However, Kyrgios was fined $US2500 ($3308) by the governing body for racquet abuse during his dramatic second-round loss to Seppi on Hisense Arena, and would be further short-changed if he recently extended his deal with the Japanese manufacturer to include the latest clause.
The world No.14's woes were also compounded when he was slapped with an additional $US3000 fine for an audible obscenity in the same match, forced to fork out more than $AU7300 in fines.
While it could be argued the brand promotion of a racquet smash is a positive endorsement for the company, Yonex clearly holds a different view and has moved to protect its image from such acts of frustration.
American Coco Vandeweghe, who is also on the books with Yonex, threw a racquet across Rod Laver Arena in her third-round victory over Eugenie Bouchard on Friday afternoon.
The American firebrand also smashed a racquet in Sydney last week as well as in Perth for the Hopman Cup at the start of the summer, adding to a long list of brain explosions throughout her career.
The decision by Yonex to implement the clause is the first of its kind in tennis, but it will unlikely affect their deals with elite players who earn millions of dollars each season.
However, the impact at grassroots level among the younger stars could be felt by players scratching for every dollar to travel the world to compete in tournaments.
Yonex racquets are made in Japan, unlike most others, which are made in China, with a premium put on the amount of money spent on providing its clients with top-of-the-line equipment.
Yonex declined to comment, maintaining contract negotiations with its players would remain confidential.
Marcos Baghdatis wasn't sponsored by Yonex when he famously smashed four racquets against Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open in 2012, but - under the current conditions of the racquet manufacturer - would be forking out a substantial amount to compensate for the apparent brand damage.
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