ALMATY – Terence Atmane’s season hit rock bottom in qualifying at the Shanghai Masters. Overcome by frustration, the Frenchman angrily hurled his racket into the stands, and it did not take long for people to single him out on social media. “I received a lot of hate from that, which is pretty normal because I deserve it, I’ve been behaving pretty badly,” he told CLAY after his first-round win at the Almaty Open.
“I was struggling a lot mentally these past couple of weeks. The season has been very long for me and I was also struggling with my mental health, so it hasn’t been easy for me,” he told CLAY after beating Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 7-6(5), 6-2.
Despite how shocking his actions were, Atmane was not defaulted from the match in Shanghai, as his racket did not hit anyone. It came just a day before Daniil Medvedev was defaulted at the China Open for hitting a spectator with a ball, prompting widespread comparisons across the tennis world between the contrasting outcomes of the two incidents.
Atmane revoleó la raqueta y no fue descalificado en Shanghai.
Una curiosidad: tanto hoy como en su partido de la última semana se retiró cuando estaba cerca de perder. https://t.co/VP32CvrBdn
— Gonzalo Ferreyra (@gonzaloferreyr) October 5, 2026
“I’m trying to get a fresh new restart in this tournament, because Shanghai showed me that this kind of behaviour has no place on a tennis court at the highest level, because a lot of people are watching me, a lot of people are supporting me. I want to deeply apologise to everyone, because I feel this is not the type of behaviour that I want to show to people,” he told CLAY.
Fortunately for him, his arrival in Kazakhstan did bring a change in momentum: he won his first main-draw match since August and his first victory on an indoor court. “I feel amazing, I was preparing myself for this tournament, because it’s one of the last four of the season for me. I’m looking forward to the next one, because of course, you get one win, you want a second one, but I’m going to try to enjoy it as much as I can today and prepare myself tomorrow,” he said.
To close, and looking back on what happened in China, the world No. 98 paid tribute to the people who supported him after the incident. “I’ve been pretty disappointed in myself, but I’m happy about the people around me who showed me that no matter what, they will love me for who I am and they will do their best to help me get through that process. So I’m pretty happy and now I feel a fresh new start and I’m looking forward to the next one,” he concluded.
