Terence Atmane Loses His Cool in Shanghai: A Wild Outburst, Then Withdrawal

Terence Atmane is back in the spotlight due to a decidedly unusual incident. During the qualifying rounds of the Shanghai Masters 1000, the French player hurled his racket toward the stands and subsequently decided to withdraw when defeat against Bernard Tomic was all but certain. No spectators were hit by the racket.

This is not, however, the first unusual withdrawal in recent days. On September 30, at the Jingshan Challenger, Atmane abandoned his match against Elias Ymer at 5-5 in the third set, after letting his lead slip from 5-3, without any obvious physical issues apparent.

A similar situation occurred in Shanghai. In the first round of qualifying for the penultimate Masters 1000 tournament of the season, Atmane shook hands with Tomic at 5-3 in the decisive set, ending the match without having shown any clear signs of injury up to that point.

What sparked the most debate, however, was what happened a few games earlier. With the score at 2-2 and 40-30 in favor of the Australian, Atmane made an error on a backhand slice and reacted by hurling his racket toward the stands. It was a dangerous gesture that had no consequences for the audience, as the racket did not hit anyone.

Following the incident in Shanghai and the difficulties he’s faced in recent weeks, the Frenchman posted a lengthy apology on Instagram, also explaining the pressure he’s been under due to his sharp drop in the rankings.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize for my inappropriate behavior yesterday. A month ago, I was in the top 40, and now I find myself almost out of the top 100. This has caused me much more stress and pressure than I could ever have imagined. That does not justify my inappropriate behavior.”

Atmane then announced his intention to take a break to assess his situation more carefully, without clarifying whether he will return to the field before the end of the season.

“After what’s happened on the field in recent weeks, I’ve decided to take a step back and start over. Given my health issues (not mental, but physical), I can’t say yet whether my season is over. But I know one thing: whatever decision we make, it will be the best one. Thank you all for your support, and see you soon on the court.”