Terence Atmane has been forced to give up around a third of his prize money from the French Open after accidentally hitting a spectator with a ball during his first-round loss.
The 22-year-old made his main draw debut in the French Open this week after receiving a wildcard invite for the tournament.
He went up against Sebastian Ofner in the first round and got off to an impressive start as he took the opening two sets.
But Ofner began to fight back and Atmane let his frustrations get the better of him during the fourth set.
Terence Atmane hit a spectator in the crowd
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The French player lashed out and smashed a ball into the stands behind Ofner and inadvertently hit a spectator.
The Austrian tennis star wanted Atmane disqualified over the incident with the umpire and supervisor called onto the court.
Atmane escaped with just a warning before going on to lose the match in five sets.
But he’s now been fined a whopping £19,650 (€25,000) for the incident – roughly a third of his total prize money for making the main draw of the tournament.
A player who loses in the first round of the French Open earns around £63,000.
Atmane issued a grovelling apology on social media following the incident, insisting that a broken string on his racket affected the flight of the ball.
He said: “Of course, my first instinct would have been to go and apologise, but I was so shocked and disoriented by my action that no reaction came to mind… like a blackout where my brain switches off and I can’t think of anything else – anything.
“I’m working very hard on myself mentally and people who know me know that I’ve made enormous progress in terms of frustration and stress management, even if I’m far from perfect.
Sebastian Ofner wanted Terence Atmane disqualified
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“Stress that 6 months ago was causing me to lose between four and 6kg per tournament.
“This gesture, which I’m sure you’ve seen on the media, was not intentional, so please forgive me for my emotional outburst and, above all, I’d like to apologize personally to the lady.”
Atmane said at the time that he was attempting to reach out to the lady he hit and give her a signed racket.
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Terence Atmane was knocked out in five sets
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He also indicated that he wouldn’t challenge any financial penalty that was set to come his way.
Novak Djokovic was famously kicked out of the US Open in 2020 when he accidentally hit a line judge with a ball.
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