French tennis player Térence Atmane publicly apologized after his inappropriate behavior on Monday during the first round of Roland-Garros against Sebastian Ofner. Frustrated, he sent a forehand into the stands, directly at a spectator.
While everything started well, Térence Atmane lost in five sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 2-6, 5-7), Sunday, against the Austrian Sebastian Ofner, at the occasion of the 1st round of Roland-Garros. Extremely frustrated in the fourth set, on a ball called a foul and returned by his opponent, the Boulonnais sent an angry forehand into the stands, hitting a spectator on the knee.
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“After losing the 3rd set and leading 4-1 in the 4th set, Sebastian saves a break point and when he returns the ball to me, I have a moment of frustration and I decide to send the ball to irritation in the net… Problem, I break my string at the same moment and I find myself seeing my ball cross the court and go directly into the leg of a spectator”, the 22-year-old player recounts in a long message “written with tears in his eyes”, published Monday evening on social networks.
Atmane wants to find the spectator and offer her a signed racket
Simply warned by the referee after discussion with the victim (about whom he was not concerned at the time), Atmane tried to explain his lack of reaction: “Of course, the first instinct would have been to go apologize, but so shocked and confused by my action, no reaction came to mind… Like a blackout where my brain switches off and I no longer think about anything I work very hard on myself mentally and them. People who know me know that I have made enormous progress on my frustration and the management of my stress, even if I am very far from being perfect… Stress which, six months ago, made me lose between 4 and 6 kg per tournament”, unfolds Atmane.
Before coming to the famous supporter who had the misfortune of finding herself in the trajectory of the ball: “This gesture was not intentional, please forgive me for my burst of emotion. Above all, I would personally like to apologize directly to the lady and offer her one of my signed rackets, if she accepts the offer of course.
“I will assume the financial consequences of my actions with the tournament,” concludes Atmane, who describes himself as “an extremely sensitive person” and whose situation “deeply affects him.”
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2024-05-28 08:33:32
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