- Terence Atmane hit a spectator after shooting the rogue ball into the stands
- The point was already over, but the player managed to avoid disqualification
- Opponent Sebastian Ofner believes Atmane was lucky to escape punishment
Tennis star Terence Atmane escaped punishment in his opening match at the French Open on Sunday after shooting a ball into the crowd and hitting a fan as the point had already passed.
Playing in front of his home crowd, Atmane raced to a two-set lead, but lost the third and fell behind his Austrian opponent Sebastian Ofner by a double break in the fourth.
Down 4-1, 22-year-old Atmane, currently ranked 120th in his career best, hit a backhand long, and when the ball came back to him, he fired the ball into the stands at the other end, killing a female fan in the process.
There was a stunned silence in the crowd before the match referee went over to check if the woman was okay.
Meanwhile, Atmane initially made his way to the net to speak briefly to the referee before returning to the baseline to wait for the match to resume.
Terence Atmane (photo) shot the ball into the crowd after the point had already passed
The ball hit a female fan, leaving the crowd in stunned silence as they waited to see if Atmane would be punished.
The match was postponed for 15 minutes while the referee checked on the woman, but Atmane was allowed to continue and escaped with a warning.
After a 15-minute delay, Atmane was cautioned for unsportsmanlike conduct, but no further penalty was imposed.
The match was allowed to continue and Ofner completed his comeback to advance to the second round after a 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 7-5 win.
Ofner admitted afterwards that he was surprised that Atmane had not been disqualified after the incident.
“For me it was a bit surprising, because if you do something like that on a small field, you have to be punished, you know?” he said.
‘Because it’s not like you hit the ball normally. It was full force. The ball was so fast. Right into the crowd. There were people who were disqualified for less.”
He continued: “The referee said, ‘Oh yeah, I was talking to the lady. The lady said at first it hurt, but now it’s fine and everything is fine. She saw the ball coming. So it’s not enough for disqualification.”
‘I think if he saw what it was like, he might decide differently. A little more bad luck and it hits you straight in the face. And then something can happen (like) a broken nose or whatever.”
During last year’s tournament, Japan’s Miyu Kato and her doubles partner were forced to forfeit a match after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck following a point on court 14.
Atmane went on to lose in five sets, but his tournament could have been over even sooner
His opponent, Sebastian Ofner (pictured), felt the Frenchman could have been disqualified
Japan’s Miyu Kato (left) was left in tears after losing her French Open match with her doubles partner last year when she accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck
Novak Djokovic was also disqualified from the 2020 US Open for hitting a line judge with the ball after losing a crucial point
Novak Djokovic was also famously disqualified from the last 16 of the 2020 US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball as he lost an important point against Pablo Carreno Busta.
He then rushed to check on the linesman but was still found at fault for his actions.
Atmane could have suffered a similar fate but was left out, although his tournament is now over after losing to Ofner in five sets.
A spokesman for the French tennis federation said there would be no comment before Monday’s match.