Handling of French Open incident with Terence Atmane heavily criticised including by fellow pro Liam Broady

Liam Broady has criticized the French Open's decision after Terence Atmane unintentionally hit a spectator. The French tennis player was facing Austria’s Sebastian Ofner on Court 12 when, in the middle of the fourth set, he hit a ball into the crowd, striking a woman in the stands.

According to the rules, such actions typically result in the player's automatic disqualification. However, the supervisor and chair umpire decided to only issue a warning to the local player, which angered Ofner.

Controversial Debut for Atmane at Roland Garros

The 22-year-old Atmane was playing his first main draw match at the French Open after receiving a wildcard from the organizers. The world No. 121 hit a ball over the wall into the seats behind the baseline after losing a point in the fourth set, while Ofner was staging a comeback.

Read also

(VIDEO) Terence Atmane smashes ball in frustration, hits spectator but isn't disqualified in major Roland Garros controversy

Atmane had won the first two sets 6-3, 6-4, but struggled to close the match against the resilient Austrian, who took the third set in a tie-break and was leading 4-1 in the fourth set at the time of the incident. The match was paused for nearly 15 minutes as the umpire spoke with the spectator before ultimately deciding to only warn Atmane.

Atmane hit a spectator with a ball during the fourth set.

The umpire's decision and the situation became one of the most discussed topics at the start of this year's French Open. One of those who reacted was world No. 147 Liam Broady, who posted a message on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing the curious situation, while Stan Wawrinka responded with a laughing emoji.

"For those wondering… I found the supervising and umpiring in that match ATROCIOUS. Umpire wasn’t even going to give a warning. And supervisor went to ask spectator about it in front of 1000 French fans chanting 'let him play'. What a circus. French in France I guess."

Liam Broady

@Liambroady

·Follow

Replying to @Liambroady

For those wondering… I found the supervising and umpiring in that match ATROCIOUS. Umpire wasn’t even going to give a warning. And supervisor went to ask spectator about it in front of 1000 French fans chanting let him play. What a circus. French in France I guess 🤷🏼‍♂️

435

Reply

Copy link

Read 23 replies

Stanislas Wawrinka

@stanwawrinka

·Follow

Replying to @Liambroady

🤦🏻‍♂️😂

66

Reply

Copy link

Read 3 replies