Shanghai Masters star in furious meltdown and throws racket into stands as crowd gasp
Tennis ace Terence Atmane has apologised after launching a racket into the stands during an unhinged breakdown at the Shanghai Masters. The Frenchman was taking on Bernard Tomic in the first round of qualifying at the Masters 1000 event, but it wasn’t going the way he wanted. Atmane lost the first set, and despite battling back in the second, was unable to match the Aussie, with Tomic taking control. As such, when the match started to drift away from him, Atmane began to go off the rails.
It started with the 24-year-old smashing his racket against the floor, before he started to take his frustration out on the net. Later on in the set, Atmane went a step further, as he threw his racket towards the terraces, where a collection of fans had gathered to watch the qualifying match.
Social media footage shows the moment Atmane let rip, with the metal barriers the only thing stopping the racket from clattering into a spectator. An audible gasp could be heard from the fans watching the match, with the locals left stunned by Atmane’s petulance.
Atmane was not defaulted but did later retire during the third set, and shortly after the match, the world No.99 issued a frank apology. He remarked: “I would like to take the chance to apologise regarding my bad behaviour yesterday (at the Shanghai masters).
“Being inside the top 40 a month ago and seeing myself almost out of the top 100 made me way more stressed and pressured than I could possibly imagine.”
It’s true that Atmane has suffered a sharp drop-off in the rankings, with his only wins since late August having come on the Challenger Tour. He continued: “It doesn’t excuse me for my bad behaviour, and after considering what happened on court for these past weeks, I’ve decided to take a step back and rebuild myself from zero.”
It’s been quite the week of tennis players losing their temper, with Daniil Medvedev having been disqualified from the China Open semi-final for hitting a spectator with the ball. It gifted Novak Djokovic a spot in the final of the tournament, and while it wasn’t intentional, Medvedev issued an apology of his own.
The Russian remarked: “Terribly sorry to the spectator, first of all. I’m trying to get in touch with him, if he wants it. Hopefully I can apologise in person and see how he feels. I just hope he’s okay. That’s the most important. I just really care about him right now.”
Medvedev did get in touch with the spectator, and even gifted them a signed racket. The main draw action at the Shanghai Masters gets underway later this week.
