Corentin Moutet’s entirely relatable reaction to facing a tennis ball coming at him at 142 mph could lead to a significant fine.Moutet, the crafty, idiosyncratic and combustible Frenchman, swore seven times in less than a minute during a post-match interview at Queen’s, the prestigious grass-court event in west London.Moutet, 27, who had just defeated huge-serving compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5) when BBC interviewer Jenny Drummond asked him about facing a 142 mph second serve from Mpetshi Perricard, 22.“That’s so frustrating you know. When I had match point, I was on the second serve. OK, you aim in the middle, whatever you do, just put the ball in the court.“And then he hits me 142 and I was like, ‘f–––. I will have to serve …’”After pausing and appearing to realize what he had done as the crowd tittered, Drummond said “no f-bombs please,” before handing Moutet the mic again.“F––– f––– f–––,” Moutet said, before Drummond pulled the mic away and said “no, no!” before apologizing to the watching crowd for Moutet’s language.
She then asked him a second question about winning the match, but Moutet could only respond with three more of the same curse word, which led to the interview being cut. Presenter Clare Balding then apologized to television viewers from the studio.When a much shorter version of the already sub-50-second interview went up on the tournament’s Instagram, Moutet saw fit to leave a comment: “I was just joking I hope you guys didn’t get offended. Thanks for the love.”Moutet’s behavior is likely to lead to a fine. According to the ATP Rulebook, “a player shall not use an audible obscenity while on-site. Audible obscenity is defined as the use of words commonly known and understood to be profane and uttered clearly and loudly enough to be heard.“Violation of this section shall subject a player to a fine up to $5,000 for each violation … In circumstances that are flagrant and particularly injurious to the success of a tournament, or are singularly egregious, a single violation of this section shall also constitute the player Major Offense of Aggravated Behavior.”Aggravated behavior carries a fine of up to $100,000, or a player’s total prize money from a tournament, if it exceeds that figure. It also comes with a minimum suspension of 21 days. Even if Moutet’s swearing is not deemed to be aggravated behavior, a possible maximum fine of $35,000 for less than a minute’s speaking is a tidy sum, and the way that the ATP Tour views Moutet’s actions in terms of disrespecting the tournament or fans will be key to the outcome.Audible obscenity is one of the more common code violations on both the men’s and women’s tours, but invoking it for an interview — in which players most often forget that they should not swear, but then self-correct — is vanishingly rare.He will next play Wednesday, against either Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.Jun 16, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
