"There was no malice, no abuse, no violence" - Gael Monfils clarifies UTS disqualification over 'playful exchange' which left supervisor injured
Gael Monfils has clarified the events leading to his disqualification from the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Oslo. The UTS is an international individual tennis league with different rules compared to traditional lawn tennis. Monfils accidentally injured tournament supervisor Stephane Apostolou in a playful moment in the locker room, which resulted in his disqualification.
Gael Monfils clarifies UTS disqualification
Gael Monfils has recently clarified the events leading to his disqualification from the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Oslo. The race to the UTS Grand Final began on Friday (February 9), featuring players such as Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, Alexander Bublik, Casper Ruud, Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, Dominic Thiem, Benoit Paire, Lucas Pouille, and Gael Monfils.
The UTS is an international individual tennis league with rules that differ from traditional lawn tennis. It features timed quarters instead of sets, and players have the option to take a coaching timeout once per set, among other rule differences.
Monfils was defeated by Alex de Minaur 15-12, 17-8, 16-9 on Friday in their first match of the tournament. After the match, it was announced that the Frenchman was disqualified from the competition. Then, on Saturday (February 10), the organizers of the UTS released a statement clarifying the events that took place resulting in his suspension.
Accidental injury to tournament supervisor
It was stated that in a playful moment, Gael Monfils accidentally injured tournament supervisor Stephane Apostolou in the locker room. Despite no ill intentions, Monfils was disqualified by UTS, and both parties accepted the decision amicably and parted ways on friendly terms.
“Yesterday a playful exchange in the locker room between Gael Monfils and the tournament supervisor Stephane Apostolou resulted in a minor injury to the supervisor. UTS is 100% satisfied that there was no malice intended from Gael but because there was an injury sustained by an official, however minor, we felt there was no alternative but to disqualify Gael. Gael accepted the disqualification and he and the supervisor parted on friendly terms. See you next time Gael,” UTS said
Monfils also clarified the incident on Saturday via a post on his X account. He referred to the UTS statement and wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
Monfils' 2024 season highlights
Gael Monfils kicked off his 2024 campaign at the ASB Classic in Auckland but faced an early exit at the hands of Fábián Marozsán, as the Hungarian beat him in the first round in three sets.
The Frenchman then competed at the Australian Open and defeated Yannick Hanfmann in the first round but was knocked out by Argentina's Tomás Martín Etcheverry in the second round, who won 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. His best record at the Australian Open includes quarter-final finishes in 2016 and 2022.
Monfils then moved on to compete at the Open Sud de France. Monfils has a strong record at the event in Montpellier, having won the trophy in 2010, 2014, and 2020. This time, however, he was knocked out by eventual quarter-finalist Flavio Cobolli in the first round.
