Local wildcard Terence Atmane avoided disqualification after hitting a ball into a spectator at the French Open, sparking a debate about double standards.
The 22-year-old was in the midst of collapsing from two sets up in his Roland Garros debut when he lashed out at the end of a point.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Terence Atmane hits ball into the crowd, striking fan.
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Atmane’s opponent Sebastian Ofner appeared surprised by the outburst while the chair umpire quickly realised a woman had been struck by the ball.
The official ran over and climbed into the stands to check on the fan, who could be seen rubbing her knee but appeared to brush off the incident.
An aggressive strike sending a ball into the crowd puts players at risk of disqualification and even Ofner argued for that decision to be made.
The chair umpire conferred with tournament officials, Ofner and the fan one more time before agreeing to let Atmane continue in the match.
“The referee said ‘I was talking to the lady, the lady said at the beginning it was hurting but now it’s fine, and everything was ok. She saw the ball coming. So it’s not enough for disqualification’,” Ofner said later.
“I think if he would see how it was, maybe he would decide different. A little bit more unlucky and it’s going directly in the face. And then something can happen (like) a broken nose or whatever.”
Replays showed Atmane had watched the ball fly off his racquet and remained on his side of the court the entire time his participation was under review.
Atmane’s fans inside Court 6 cheered loudly as a decision neared.
And though Ofner was disappointed he ensured he would not have any regrets, pushing on to win 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 7-5 as the clock ticked over to midnight.
“For me, it was a bit surprising (that Atmane was not defaulted) because if you do something like that on a small court, you have to be punished, you know?” Ofner said.
“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.”
Indeed, at the French Open last year Miyu Kato was booted from the women’s doubles tournament after hitting a ball that struck a ballkid.
Ofner was joined by many tennis fans in thinking Atmane was lucky to have stayed on court after the incident.
Many claimed he was afforded a chance world No.1 Novak Djokovic — infamously defaulted from the 2020 US Open for striking a ball into a lineswoman — would not have received.
Andrey Rublev was disqualified in Dubai earlier this year for screaming at a line judge.
Remarkably, an American player claimed the French Open incident was not the first time Atmane had hit a ball into the crowd this year.
Atmane received only a warning when he “nailed a fan hard” during a qualifying match in Dallas nearly four months ago, according to Thai-Son Kwiatkowski — his opponent that day.
Tennis media personality Blair Henley also noticed Atmane’s worrying actions on court during that tournament.
“After watching Atmane play three matches in Dallas this year, this does not surprise me at all,” she said after the Roland Garros episode.
“I hope he can make some mental adjustments because he’s delightful off court.”
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