Corentin Moutet was hit with a code violation after snapping his racket in half and giving the broken stick to a fan in the crowd.
The Frenchman qualified for the Paris Masters but faced a tough first-round opponent in Ben Shelton.
After going down an early break, he let his frustrations get the better of him and broke his equipment after ranting at his box.
Moutet is no stranger to controversy. The world No. 70 was defaulted from a match in Adelaide two years ago and once asked to have a fan removed from one of his Madrid Open ties.
And he was back at it during one of his home tournaments, the Paris Masters. Fans packed out the stands in Court 1 to cheer on their man as he faced world No. 19 Shelton.
Their support wasn’t much help. Moutet became frustrated during a tough service game at 2-3 and was eventually broken.
He started venting towards his team, asking for tactics while Shelton waited to serve in the next game. And tensions boiled over when he sent the ball into the net, breaking his racket in response.
“And there is the broken racket,” Colin Fleming said on commentary as the 25-year-old retreated to his bench to get a new one. “This has to be a warning now, surely. He’s not exactly tapped that on the ground, has he?”
Right on cue, chair umpire Aurelie Tourte announced a code violation for racket abuse as a slow-motion replay showed Moutet brutally snapping the racket over his knee.
“That must hurt, no? I can’t even try to do that,” co-commentator and retired pro Gilles Muller added.
The outburst of emotions didn’t help Moutet loosen up. Shelton held on and the Frenchman could be seen covering his head with a towel during the next changeover.
There was more drama in the second set after Shelton took the first. With the American serving at 2-2, the umpire called a ‘not-up’ on one of Moutet’s shots because the ball bounced twice before he got to it.
It took a few seconds for Tourte to make the call and Shelton waved his arms up in protest before she confirmed it was his point. Moutet stormed to the chair and argued with the umpire in French but she stood her ground. There were boos as she called the score in Shelton’s favour.
There was a lot on the line for both men with an increased sense of opportunity in the draw. The winner of the Moutet vs Shelton match was set to play world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the second round.
But the two-time Major champion was forced to pull out of the tournament on Tuesday morning after contracting a virus. He was replaced by lucky loser Arthur Cazaux.
