Terence Atmane’s Former Coach Torches the Frenchman on Attitude Issues: “I Don’t Trust Him”

Days before Wimbledon, Terence Atmane and his coach Guillaume Peyre ended their partnership following a tense situation. Atmane, who became famous in August last year at Cincinnati, has been slammed by his former coach, Peyre, for his bad behavior and lack of values, which led to the deterioration of their relationship.

Atmane got the tennis world’s attention during the Cincinnati Open, where he shockingly defeated Holger Rune in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. However, his run ended in the semi-finals following his loss to Jannik Sinner in straight sets. But after that, he continued his bad run of performance on the court.

Cincinnati was supposed to serve as a springboard to better on-court performance, but the Frenchman failed to maintain the momentum and has not reached a tournament semi-final since. His best run since last August came at the Acapulco Open in March, when he reached the last eight before losing to Miomir Kecmanović.

He has recorded just one win on grass this season, but from March to June he reached only one tournament round of 16. The World No.52 crashed out in the third round of the Madrid Open, in the opening round of the Hamburg Open and the French Open, and couldn’t get a win at the Eastbourne International.

In an interview with L’EQUIPE, Peyre recounted that his relationship with Atmane began to deteriorate after Roland Garros, when he returned to Hong Kong for administrative procedures, and Atmane left to prepare for the grass season with his fitness coach. But to his surprise, when he arrived at Libema Open, he discovered that the player had not trained at all and was yet to arrange for stringing:

First, what accelerated my decision was that after Roland Garros, I returned to Hong Kong because I needed something stamped for my visa. He went to train on grass with our physical trainer. And when I met him in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, I arrived and his racquet wasn’t strung because he hadn’t taken care of it due to lack of discipline. And in a way, he had involved his father again. And I was clear from the start: if the father is involved, I’m gone.

Peyre complained that Atmane’s values are unacceptable to work with and lack a foundation for eager success. The Frenchman has won just eleven matches this season, losing nineteen. The 24-year-old is yet to win a tour-level title in his career and holds a 22-36 win-loss record on tour.

Terence Atmane’s coach reveals what led to them parting ways before Wimbledon

Terence Atmane is currently at the Wimbledon Championships. His opening match against Frances Tiafoe on Monday (June 30) was suspended after the game reached its fourth set, with 9 pm having clocked in London. The tournament organizers have already revealed that no late match will be allowed, and once it is 9 pm, the match will have to be suspended until the following day.

However, before arriving in London for Wimbledon, something happened between Atmane and Guillaume Peyre that finally led to the breakdown in their partnership. Peyre narrated during the aforementioned interview that Atmane’s loss against Gabriel Diallo in the opening round of the Eastbourne International was completely unacceptable:

He lost 7-5 in the third set against Gabriel Diallo. What I didn’t like was the lack of respect towards his opponent. After the match, when you ask him to analyze it, he says Diallo was just lucky. That’s when I say: ‘Look, your behavior is unacceptable. This lack of respect is widespread. I pack my bags and goodbye, Terence’.

Atmane and American star Tiafoe will be back on Court 12 at the All England Club on Tuesday (July 1). The Frenchman was down 6(6)-7, 1-6, 6-4 before the match was suspended on Monday. Tiafoe last defeated Atmane in the round of 16 of the Miami Open in March, winning in three sets.

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