Terence Atmane has issued a public apology for his behaviour in Shanghai after launching his racket into the stands during a qualifying match and retiring while on the verge of defeat. The world No. 98 took on Bernard Tomic in the first round of qualies, where he grew increasingly frustrated before he threw in the towel altogether.
Atmane whacked his racket against the ground and the net before his frustrations finally boiled over, and he hurled his racket up into the air and into the stands at the side of the court. The racket hit the railings, bouncing off before it could make contact with anyone.
Match Details and Backlash
The Frenchman had done well to fight back after losing the first set, winning the second and going up an early break in the decider. But he then lost four of the next five games, giving Tomic a 6-3 4-6 5-3 lead when he decided to retire.
Atmane had also retired in the middle of a Jingshan Challenger match less than a week earlier. He was taken to a third set by Swedish star Elias Ymer, and again blew a break in the deciding set. The world No. 98 got broken when serving for the match and stopped in the middle of the next game as Ymer advanced 4-6 7-5 5-5 ret.
The Frenchman's behaviour in Shanghai attracted plenty of backlash, especially as he was not defaulted when he threw his racket into the stands. The racket did not make contact with anyone, but many pointed out that Daniil Medvedev was then disqualified from the China Open for showing less aggression or frustration.
Medvedev Comparison and Atmane's Response
Medvedev was facing Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals in Beijing when he hit a ball away during the final game, while the Serb served for the match. It unintentionally struck a spectator sitting behind the baseline, and because of the contact, he had to be defaulted.
Atmane has now made a winning return to competition, beating Rinky Hijikata 7-6(5) 6-2, and he addressed his "bad" behaviour in Shanghai, admitting he deserved the criticism. "I received a lot of hate, which is pretty normal because I deserve it. I've been behaving pretty badly," the 24-year-old said.
"I was struggling a lot mentally for the past couple of weeks. The season has been very long for me. I was struggling with my mental health, so it hasn't been easy for me, but I was trying to get a fresh start after this tournament, because Shanghai showed me that this kind of behaviour has [no place] on a tennis court at the highest level, and also because a lot of people are watching me and supporting me. So, for the love of the sport, I'm not allowed to do such things.
"So first off, I want to deeply apologise to everyone because this is not the type of behaviour that I want to show to people. I've been pretty disappointed in myself, but I'm happy about the people around me who showed me that no matter what, they will love me for who I am, and they will do their best to help me get through that."
Turning Point in Almaty
Atmane hopes the Almaty Open can be something of a turning point. He had never won a match on indoor hard courts until now, despite being a former world No. 41 and Masters semi-finalist. Now, he wants more.
He added: "I feel amazing. I was preparing myself for this tournament because it's one of the last four this season for me. So I was pretty happy to be here and get the win, especially for my first time in Kazakhstan, my first indoor win as well.
"I never got an indoor win on the ATP Tour, so I'm pretty happy about that. Of course, now that you get one win, you want a second one. I'm going to try to enjoy as much as I can today and prepare myself tomorrow."
