Monfils receives racist abuse after Rome defeat

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Gael Monfils responds to frequent abuse directed at him and his family with emojis of black hands
Gael Monfils responds to frequent abuse directed at him and his family with emojis of black hands

Rome - After receiving a first-round bye he was eliminated 6-2, 6-4 by German qualifier Dominik Koepfer, ranked 97th in the world

By AFP

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Published: Fri 18 Sep 2020, 5:25 PM

Last updated: Fri 18 Sep 2020, 7:29 PM

French tennis player Gael Monfils revealed Friday that he had received a barrage of racist abuse through social media after his second-round exit in the Italian Open.

In an Instagram post starting with the warning "watch your eyes" the world number nine shared a few of the messages with his followers in which he was described as a "stupid black monkey" and "loser".

Often Monfils, 35, responds to frequent abuse directed at him and his family with emojis of black hands.
"Unfortunately I gave it everything, but was very bad," he wrote above one insulting post after Thursday's match.

"Not a good evening, but I hope to come back stronger."
The French player made his return in Rome after more than six months off court due to the coronavirus pandemic.

After receiving a first-round bye he was eliminated 6-2, 6-4 by German qualifier Dominik Koepfer, ranked 97th in the world.
"It was really not great," said Monfils of his last warm-up before the French Open, where he reached the semi-finals in 2008.
"It frustrates me enormously to have played so badly."


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