Moutet shatters racket at Wimbledon after third-set loss

Corentin Moutet snapped his racquet over his knee during his Wimbledon first-round match against Marcos Giron after losing the third set, triggering a code violation from the umpire. The 27-year-old Frenchman’s latest outburst follows a £30,325 fine after he d

Tuesday at Wimbledon started like so many of Corentin Moutet’s matches do—loud, fast, and emotionally unstable—until it ended with a racquet split open under his own frustration.

Moutet. a 27-year-old Frenchman already known for melting down at the worst possible moments. faced American Marcos Giron in the first round and took the opening set. But once the match tilted, his temper took over. After losing the third set, Moutet overhit a lob and then attempted to break his racquet over his knee. He failed twice before the third try finally snapped it.

He didn’t just throw it away. He handed the remains to a boy watching from Court 9 as if it were a gift, and spectators applauded. The relief didn’t last. The umpire issued a code violation.

This was not his first Wimbledon interruption. Earlier in the fortnight’s buildup to this latest incident. he had apologised after striking an elderly spectator with a wayward serve during the second set. The woman later said, “Got me right on the shoulder,” as she left the courtside benches after the second set.

The racket-smash came after Moutet spent portions of the match complaining about multiple line calls. “That’s insane,” he shouted at the umpire after one of Giron’s shots was called in. At the same time, the Frenchman’s emotional swings didn’t stay on court. In the stands outside the All England Club. French fans chanted “Allez. allez. allez. Moutet. Moutet. Moutet. ” backing him with the kind of noise that can feel like gasoline when the pressure rises.

His latest sequence of trouble lands less than two weeks after a separate punishment at Queen’s—one that already showed how far the language and conduct issues had escalated. After his round-of-32 victory over compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Moutet was slapped with a fine of $40. 000 (£30. 325) for dropping the F-bomb seven times during an on-court BBC interview.

During that interview with reporter Jenny Drummond, Moutet began by referencing Mpetshi-Perricard’s huge serve. He said, “I had a match point, I was on the second serve, and then he hits me 142 kph. I was like. f***. I would have to serve and I would have to…” before pausing as the crowd murmured at the swearing. Drummond then interjected, “No F-bombs,” and prompted Moutet to blurt: “F***, f***, f***”.

Drummond responded, “No, no, no,” and offered a direct apology—“Apologies, everyone, for the language there. Right, Corentin. I’m going to ask you one more question. So please keep it clean. OK?” When she asked him what it was like to get his first victory. Moutet continued: “F***. f***. f***. ” pushing Drummond to end the interview. “OK, Corentin, we need to improve that for the next round,” she said. “Apologies, everyone. Corentin Moutet.”.

Back at Wimbledon on Tuesday, the same pattern resurfaced: his frustration spills into visible action, and then the rules step in. The snapped racquet was met with applause from the stands, but the umpire still acted, issuing the code violation.

Moutet’s Wimbledon behaviour isn’t a one-off. Even at Queen’s last year he suffered another meltdown against Brit Jacob Fearnley. throwing his racquet. blasting a ball into the crowd and calling the umpire “crazy” after being hit with three code violations in a hot-tempered defeat. Three months earlier. he had to be separated by the umpire from Alexander Bublik after Bublik offered him outside for a fight. The moment turned physical enough that Moutet was heard shouting “I’m not ready” while Bublik replied. “I don’t give a s***.” After the match. their confrontation continued with footage showing Bublik saying. “You want to fight?. The French kid is speaking & he doesn’t want to fight. ‘Let’s go. We meet in 10 minutes outside.’”.

His record of anger with officials stretches beyond grass-court tennis. Moutet defaulted from a match in Adelaide four years ago after he told an umpire “f*** you.” He was also stripped of French Tennis Federation funding that same year when he got into an on-court shoving match with opponent Adrian Andreev.

There’s also been a darker thread to his outbursts. Moutet claimed he was given a death threat at the net by Pavel Kotov during their first-round match of a Challenger event in May last year. In a hastily-deleted social media post. he said Kotov told him: “Next time you come to the net. I’ll kill you. One day, someone will kill you.”.

Off-court, his intensity has followed him too. Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman described an interaction between Moutet and Danielle Collins at a practice session. saying. “He was shouting at you. he was cat calling you. ” before Collins picked up the story. Collins said. “I basically said to him. ‘If you’re going to be flirting with me like that. you’re going to have to get a bigger serve.’” She also claimed Moutet unfollowed her on social

media after a dating profile revealed she isn’t interested in “short kings.” Collins added that she is “5ft 10in. ” and said. “You have to understand that I’m 5ft 10in. and for me. right. it’s fair… It’s just a preference. Nothing against the short kings. But he was upset about that and messaged me and then unfollowed me. He slid back into the DMs last night asking me if I saw his match and all

the big serves that he was hitting.”.

Moutet denied the claims and attacked the television network that aired her comments. On X, he wrote: “Tennis Channel how can you let someone say BS like this on tv,” blasting the outlet.

Now, the Wimbledon picture for Moutet is set for the next round. He is scheduled to face world No. 2 Jannik Sinner in the Round of 32, and he is listed at 5ft11—an already familiar detail in a week where he has repeatedly found himself at the centre of arguments, penalties, and headlines.

One thing is consistent: every time the stakes rise, Moutet’s emotions don’t just show up—they take control. At Wimbledon, they ended with a racquet snapped in half, a boy holding the remains, and an umpire’s code violation on the record.

Corentin Moutet Wimbledon Marcos Giron Jannik Sinner code violation racquet smashed Queen's BBC interview fine F-bombs line calls