ATP tennis player disqualified and loses match after upset leads to chair being thrown at umpire
A tennis player had one of the biggest on-court meltdowns in recent memory while losing at an ATP Challenger event in Italy.
Tristan Boyer faced Daniele Rapagnetta at the Francavilla al Mare Open on Monday. Boyer was the clear favorite to win against the young Italian, who is ranked 938th in the world.
But Rapagnetta surprised everyone by winning 6-4, 7-5, after Boyer completely lost his cool when Rapagnetta was leading 6-5 and about to serve for the match.
The American got very frustrated and smashed his racquet several times. After getting a warning, he received a code violation and was even penalized a game for racquet abuse.
That penalty ended the match early, giving Rapagnetta the victory in the second round of qualifying.
Boyer wasn’t finished though — he angrily shouted at the umpire, saying, “You’re giving me a penalty for something that never happened. That’s unbelievable. Watch the video.”
He also smashed another racquet on the side of the umpire’s chair and kept breaking racquets near the court while the shocked crowd watched and jeered.
After more angry words, Boyer stormed off the court and slammed the fence door behind him in frustration.
The 25-year-old reached his highest ranking of No.106 on September 8, 2025. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior isn’t new for him — at the San Diego Open in 2025, he also lost his temper, shouting at the umpire and breaking a racquet after a time violation.
This latest incident might lead to serious punishment from the officials, though there’s no news yet on any penalties or comments from Boyer.