American tennis player Tristan Boyer has unleashed an expletive-laden tirade and smashed his racquet against the umpire’s chair in an extraordinary meltdown that cost him the match.
Boyer, who is ranked No.257 in the world, was locked in a tight clash against Italy’s Daniele Rapagnetta in the second round of qualifying for the ATP Challenger event in Italy.
After dropping the first set, Boyer was broken at 5-5 in the second set when he pushed a backhand wide. That gave Rapagnetta a 6-5 lead and the chance to serve for the match.
But it ended up being the final point with Boyer’s meltdown resulting in the match ending.
The American smashed his racquet multiple times into the ground, which triggered a code violation and game penalty, which subsequently gave Rapagnetta a 6-4 7-5 victory.
Boyer then stood up and smashed his racquet into the side of the umpire’s chair. He continued to smash his racquet onto the ground and the fence before eventually grabbing his stuff to leave the court.
But there was still time for a verbal outburst directed at the umpire.
“You’re going to give me something that never even happened,” he said.
“That’s un-f***ing-believable, dude.
“I never had a f***ing ... I never... I mean, nothing happened.
“That’s just f***ing bull***t. F***ing bull***t. Watch the f***ing video. Nothing f***ing happened. F*** you, man.”
The crowd reacted in disbelief at the meltdown, jeering Boyer as he left the court.
Rapagnetta will play German teenager Max Schoenhaus in the first round of the tournament.
