French tennis player Terence Atmane apologized on Tuesday for hitting a spectator with a ball at the French Open.
Atmane angrily struck a ball and accidentally hit a female spectator in the leg on Sunday. He wasn’t disqualified but received a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. Atmane lost the first-round match to Sebastian Ofner in five sets.
Le message de Terence Atmane sur son compte Instagram suite à « l’incident » du match contre Sébastian Ofner. pic.twitter.com/83LY2eadT4— Avantage Tennis (@AvantageTennis_) May 28, 2024
“This gesture was not intentional. Please forgive me for my emotional outburst,” he said on Tuesday on Instagram. He explained that a broken string led to the ball flying into the stands and admitted to being too shocked to react immediately.
It’s at Roland-Garros!Terence Atmane hits a spectator out of frustration…
Ofner wants him disqualified… ⛔️
After much deliberation with the umpire and supervisor, he gets a warning instead ⚠️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/9vSiEfSnWR
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 26, 2024
Atmane emphasized his desire to apologize personally to the spectator.
Atmane was not disqualified because the spectator said she was fine, tournament referee Remy Azemar told French sports newspaper L’Equipe. He added Atmane will get a “significant fine.”
Not disqualifying Atmane sparked debate at Roland Garros. Players were disqualified for similar actions in the past. At last year’s French Open, Miyu Kato and her doubles partner were forced to forfeit a match when Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball.
Comments
0 comment