Corentin Moutet’s entirely relatable reaction to facing a tennis ball coming at him at 142 mph has led 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’s behavior has been handed a fine of $40,000, for what the ATP said is “unsportsmanlike conduct” after using “profane language”.“Moutet has confirmed that he will appeal the fine in accordance with ATP rules,” an ATP statement said. “The appeal will be reviewed by the ATP Tour Compliance Committee. No further comment will be made while the appeal process is ongoing.”While Moutet’s offense was swearing repeatedly, and “audible obscenity” is one of the more common code violations on both the men’s and women’s tours, the ATP has instead fined Moutet for “unsportsmanlike conduct,” which includes “misconduct by a player that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the success of a tournament, ATP and/or the Sport.” The maximum fine for an ATP 500 tournament, which Queen’s is, is $40,000.
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.”Fines for audible obscenities are more lenient than the one the ATP Tour has levied.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.”
