Gael Monfils was bizarrely disqualified from the
Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Oslo on Friday night after displaying behaviour which was not in line with tournament rules with a code of conduct violation stemming from his behaviour towards the tournament supervisor.
Being played between February 9-11, 2024, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown returns in Oslo with the Patrick Mouratoglou concept seeing players compete over quarters instead of games and sets and there are cards available to use to impact the play. This makes the disqualification that more bizarre.
On the opening day of action in Oslo, Holger Rune overpowered Dominic Thiem in sudden death. But it was Monfils' display that was the most interesting.. He lost to Alex de Minaur 12-15, 8-17, 9-16 and it wasn't a terribly competitive affair. Monfils has history too of drawing the ire of the umpire as he requested a medical timeout at the UTS Grand Final in London which is something that is not allowed in the format.
This time though albeit the camera was inside the locker room looking at Lucas Pouille getting ready, Monfils walked off court to the PA system saying he'd been disqualified with no clear show or indication as to what happened. As a result, he was disqualified with Pouille replacing him also known as 'The French Flair'. Utterly bizarre.
