Just earlier this month at the Italian Open, Daniel Altmaier lost his temper during his clash against Alexander Zverev. Frustrated mid-match, Altmaier smacked the ball into the air using the handle of his racket and later got into a heated exchange with the umpire after receiving a code violation. The match eventually ended with Zverev defeating his compatriot.

Now, the German has once again found himself in controversy, this time at the Hamburg Open during his match against Tommy Paul. Altmaier entered the contest high on confidence after upsetting Ben Shelton in the previous round, while Paul had survived a thriller against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

But things quickly unraveled for the German. After Paul dominated the opening set 6-2 by breaking serve three times, Altmaier’s frustration boiled over again.

He smashed his racket on court and then kicked it toward his bench, only for it to fly dangerously into the crowd. Fortunately, no spectators were injured, and Altmaier was immediately seen apologizing repeatedly to the fans. Commentators later described it as a “nasty moment,” and the incident nearly resulted in a disqualification-level penalty.

However, chair umpire didn’t took any action against himand the 27-year-old narrowly escaped the disqualification.

A few days ago, Corentin Moutet was also caught in a bizarre act. During the sixth game of the opening set of first round at the Hamburg Open, Moutet sparked an unusual moment on court after losing the first point of the game and suddenly pulling down his shorts in full view of the crowd. The incident drew stunned reactions from spectators, with several fans bursting into laughter at the unexpected act. Moutet quickly pulled his shorts back up and resumed play as if nothing had happened.

Incidents like these are hardly new in tennis. In fact, just two weeks ago, Daniel Altmaier found himself at the center of a similar controversy after losing his cool during a match and nearly getting disqualified for his behavior on court.

Daniel Altmaier Got Into Trouble at the Italian Open as Well

During his second-round clash at the recently concluded Italian Open, Altmaier found himself at the center of controversy. Facing compatriot Alexander Zverev, Altmaier grew frustrated after failing to convert multiple break points at a crucial stage of the match. But instead of the usual racket smash, the German vented in a rather unusual way: by striking the ball high into the air using the handle of his racket.

Chair umpire Manuel Messina issued a code violation as Altmaier argued the call. The commentators in the match supported the umpire, stating that once Altmaier hit the ball into the air and it reached the stands, there was no scope for subjective assessment of the situation, and the umpire had to issue a code violation.

“The fact that the ball went into the stands, I think, meant the decision was somewhat taken out of the umpire’s hands, to a degree, if we’re giving Manuel a bit of an out here. Once that ball enters the stands, that’s the reason he’s given the code violation,” the commentators were heard saying.

On the court, the German player has had modest results this year, with his best result coming at the Challenger level, where he reached the final in Naples. On the main tour, he reached the quarterfinals in Bucharest and Hamburg, which included some noteworthy wins over Ben Shelton and Dino Prizmic.

It does not get any easier for Altmaier, as the draw for the French Open has put him in front of a serious challenge in the first round itself, as he is slated to face the fourth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime. The head-to-head is tied at 2-2, but given Altmaier’s form, he needs to raise his level to get the win.