Paris, May 31: Tennis player Maxime Hamou has had his French Open accreditation discarded by the tournament officials after he kissed and trying to grope a female reporter during the tournament.

The 21-year-old who is ranked 287 in the world, was given a wild card into the Grand Slam by the organisers of the competition. The French player lost in a straight sets 3-6, 2-6, 4-6 against world No. 22 Pablo Cuevas.

After the defeat, Frenchman Hamou was seen grabbing "Eurosport" reporter Maly Thomas during an interview. The reporter looked embarrassed and tried to push him away while as he kissed her.

Hamou's action was soon criticised by the public and later the French Tennis Federation (FTT) condemned his indefensible conduct and requested a prompt examination. Furthermore, FTT also confirmed that Hamou's accreditation had been revoked from the rest of the tournament in a statement.

"The management of the tournament has decided to revoke Maxime Hamou's accreditation following his reprehensible behaviour with a journalist yesterday," the FFT said in a statement.

After the incident, Hamou showed regret for the incident and revealed he wanted to apologise to Thomas in person. The French player revealed his actions were the result of his over enthusiasm behaviour and it was never his intention to embarrass her.

“I want to offer my deepest apologies to Maly Thomas if she felt hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview," Hamou told the French newspaper "L'Equipe".

“I just lived a wonderful week here in Roland Garros living my most beautiful emotions as a tennis player, and I let my overflow of enthusiasm express myself awkwardly towards Maly, who I know and sincerely respect. Nothing of all that is written was my intention.

“I am at her disposal to apologise to her in person if she so wishes. I learn every day from my mistakes to become a better tennis player and a better person."

OneIndia News