Costly Bombs

Corentin Moutet was fined $40,000—nearly all his prize money for the week—for premeditated profanity on the BBC.

The most viral video in tennis this week was one that was more suited for the internet than for television, and thus proved costly.

After his first-round win at ATP 500 Queen’s Club on Monday, 36th-ranked Corentin Moutet gave an on-court interview with presenter Jenny Drummond.

Moutet, who had been on a five-match losing streak before the tournament, had just beaten big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in a third-set tiebreak, and his exuberance led to expletives.

“He aced me, 142 [miles per hour], I was like, fuck, I will have to serve, and I will have to—”

Moutet then trailed off as the crowd giggled at this breach of politesse at the posh tournament.

“No F-bombs, please,” Drummond urged Moutet.

Players without English as a first language are often given some leeway on cursing, since they may not be as conscious of expectations, but Moutet quickly flouted the rule as soon as he heard there was one:

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“Noooo!” Drummond said.

Moutet might not have known—but Drummond surely did—that this interview was being aired live on the BBC, a rare enormous platform for a first-round ATP match.

Drummond tried one more time.

“Alright, Corentin, I’m going to ask you one more question,” she said. “Apologies, everyone, for the language there. I’m gonna ask you one more question, so please keep it clean, OK? You on the grass: last week unfortunately didn’t go your way—what’s it like to get your first victory?”

Moutet, hardly known for his maturity level, then leaned back into the microphone and spoke with clear premeditation.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Moutet said, with Drummond yanking back the microphone in the middle of his seventh and final F-bomb.

“Corentin, we need to improve that for the next round,” Drummond said as Moutet smiled and laughed. “Apologies, everybody.”

There would be no on-court interview for Moutet after the next round, since he lost in straight sets to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Moutet would soon lose again, once the ATP had made its ruling a few days later.

Here’s the ATP statement sent to Bounces:

Following the use of profane language by Corentin Moutet during his post-match interview after his first-round match at the HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club in London this week, the player has received a fine of $40,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Moutet has confirmed that he will appeal the fine in accordance with ATP rules. The appeal will be reviewed by the ATP Tour Compliance Committee.

No further comment will be made while the appeal process is ongoing.

Moutet earned €37,780 in prize money for reaching the second round of the tournament, which converts into about US $43,340. A fine of $40,000 would wipe out nearly all of his earnings and presumably leave him in the red for the week.

The reactions to the video on social media were polarized. Some were amused and even enchanted. Others were outraged and aghast. I understand both sides, and know that attitudes are shifting toward public profanity in many cases.

In a 2021 study, Ofcom (Britain’s government-approved regulatory body for broadcasters) revealed that only one percent of complaints about broadcasts related to swearing; eight percent, by comparison, were complaints about forms of racial discrimination.

This is the second mid-five figure fine handed out to an ATP player within the last month for comments made to media. At the French Open, Adolfo Daniel Vallejo was fined $65,000 for comments suggesting that the umpire had been unable to control the French crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen because she was a woman. (More on that incident in my French Open notebook column, which is still coming eventually here on Bounces).

Thanks for reading Bounces! There’s no rules against swearing here, but your support and subscriptions are appreciated in lieu of a swear jar! -Ben