Sure, an intense two-hour, 50-minute clash on grass is bound to get anyone’s adrenaline pumping, but Corentin Moutet crossed the line at the HSBC Championships. He came from behind to secure a hard-fought 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. However, during his post-match interview, he failed to watch his language, which may not be all that surprising given his history…

Moutet dropped seven F-bombs during a shocking live BBC television interview before being cut off midway by interviewer Jenny Drummond, who was forced to apologize to the crowd for the World No. 36’s behavior. Though the interview started on a lighter note, Moutet let out an abusive word all of a sudden while talking about Mpetshi Perricard’s strong serve.

“I had a match point, I was on the second serve,” he said during his post-match interview. “And then he hits me 142 [kph]. I was like, f—, I would have to serve, and I would have to…”

The Queen’s Club crowd couldn’t help but react in surprise to the language, prompting Moutet to pause his answer. Drummond intervened and asked the 27-year-old to mind his language.

“No F-bombs, please,” she said.

However, Moutet had an unexpected reply to this request and dropped three more f-bombs. Drummond somehow kept her composure and requested that the Frenchman not use that word again during the interview. However, the request fell on deaf ears, and Moutet dropped three more F-bombs after being asked the next question, forcing Drummond to cut the interview short and apologize to the crowd in attendance.

“Okay, Corentin, we need to improve that for the next round. Apologies, everyone. Corentin Moutet,” she added before cutting off the interview.

This didn’t appear to affect Moutet, who smiled and waved to the crowd as he prepared to leave the court. It’s safe to say he is living up to his bad-boy image, and it’s unlikely that his behavior will change anytime soon.

In fact, even when the cameras cut back to the studio, presenter Clare Balding said:

“And just to repeat those apologies for everyone watching BBC Two and iPlayer.”

What’s done is done now, but Moutet could land in hot water for using foul language at the HSBC Championships.

Moutet is likely to be fined by the ATP Tour for the unexpected outburst. According to the rulebook, audible on-court obscenities can result in fines of up to $5,000 for each violation. However, the ATP has yet to say anything on the matter.

Interestingly, there have been previous instances of such fines being levied against tennis players. Just last July at Wimbledon, several players were fined for audible obscenities, unsportsmanlike conduct, and the “abuse of rackets or equipment.” According to the updated list of fines released by the All England Club, Henry Patten received the largest fine ($12,500) in the verbal abuse category. He was fined on June 29, 2025, for allegedly verbally abusing a staff member at an off-site practice ground.

Additionally, Chloe Paquet, Hailey Baptiste, and men’s players Alex Bolt and Zizou Bergs were all fined for audible obscenities.

Coming back to the present day, this isn’t anything new for Moutet, as he has a well-documented history of swearing and on-court misconduct. He has been handed several penalties throughout his career for the offense, but still refuses to bring any change to his behavior.

Corentin Moutet’s penalties over the years

Moutet’s first major penalty came at the 2022 Adelaide International. He was heard swearing at the chair umpire after a decision didn’t go his way and was disqualified from his second-round clash as a result. His opponent, Laslo Djere, was handed a 4-6, 7-5 victory.

The Frenchman was again at the center of a major controversy later that same year. He was involved in a physical altercation with his opponent, Adrian Andreev, at the Challenger event in Orleans. Moutet pushed Andreev multiple times after losing the match in the third set, and the two were then seen swearing at each other.

Both of them had initially received a €10,000 fine from the ATP, but Moutet was then handed an additional €5,000 fine due to his off-court comments. He was fined approximately $17,400 for the incident.

Things would soon get worse for Moutet as the French Tennis Federation stripped him of financial aid and dropped him from their program later in November due to his repeated on-court violations.

Moutet’s reputation as a tennis player took a serious hit following these incidents. But it won’t be wrong to say that he hasn’t done much to improve the situation. Now, almost four years later, he is back to his old tricks and could once again be facing a fine from the ATP for his questionable on-court actions.

The 27-year-old will be in action once again at the HSBC Championships on Thursday as he is scheduled to take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.