Terence Atmane, a 22-year-old wildcard with a career-best ranking of 120th, smacked a ball into the seats behind the opposite baseline after losing a point against Sebastian Ofner.
ByAssociated Press
Published May 26, 2024
PARIS (AP) — A French player at Roland Garros was allowed to continue his first-round match without being penalized after hitting a ball angrily and accidentally striking a spectator in the stands at one of the event’s smaller courts Sunday.
Terence Atmane, a 22-year-old with a career-best ranking of 120th, smacked a ball over the wall into the seats behind the opposite baseline at 492-capacity Court 12 after losing a point in the fourth set against Sebastian Ofner of Austria.
Play was delayed for nearly 15 minutes while the chair umpire and a tournament referee spoke to the fan who was hit and tried to decide what, if any, action to take against Atmane. Eventually, he was given a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct but no further penalty.
“For me, it was a bit surprising, because if you do something like that on a small court, you have to be punished, you know?” Ofner said after coming all the way back from a two-set deficit to pull out a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2, 7-5 victory. “Because it’s not like you hit the ball normally. It was full power. The ball was so fast. Straight in the crowd.
“There were people disqualified for less.”
