Daniel Altmaier has come under fire for his actions at the Hamburg Open.
Altmaier had a difficult start to the 2026 season, losing his first eight matches of the year in straight sets.
The German has been able to find some form since then, including Altmaier, who beat Ben Shelton to reach the Hamburg Open quarterfinals.
This is where Altmaier would face another American in Tommy Paul, but it was more his on-court behaviour that caused conversation rather than the tennis itself.
Rennae Stubbs and tennis fans claim Daniel Altmaier should have been defaulted
Altmaier lost the first set against Paul 6-2, but the second set was far more competitive.
Serving at 4-4 in the second set, Altmaier was unable to hold off the pressure from Paul and was broken at a crucial stage in the match.
Altmaier’s frustrations would then boil over the edge, as he threw his racket into the ground, before proceeding to kick his racket into the crowd in front of him.
The world number 65 received just a warning from Fergus Murphy for his actions, but six-time doubles Grand Slam champion Rennae Stubbs believes Altmaier should have been punished further and defaulted from the match.
Stubbs wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), “Ahemmm! How is this not an immediate default!???????? Who was in the chair???”
The former doubles world number one is not on her own in this view, with Stubbs’ opinion echoed by many tennis fans.
One wrote, “He should have been disqualified right then and there.”
Another questioned the umpire’s decision, “How did he not get disqualified for that?”
The calls for Altmaier to be disqualified continued, “This should be an automatic disqualification…ridiculous behaviour.”
“Shouldn’t he be disqualified for that? I mean, he got lucky it didn’t hurt anyone.”
“He ought to have been fined for that lack of control!!”
An additional social media user suggested that this is an issue that is in tennis right now, “Got to stop allowing players to behave like petulant children when things don’t go their way.”
Altmaier would actually go on to break straight back, before Paul won the match 6-2, 7-5.
Who will win this year’s French Open?
The second Slam of the year…
Brad Gilbert suggests Daniel Altmaier is a dark horse at Roland Garros
Despite Altmaier’s behaviour and defeat in Hamburg, he has actually been picked as a potential dark horse for Roland Garros this year.
Altmaier will play fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in his first round match, but Coco Gauff’s former coach Brad Gilbert believes he could be a potential unseeded threat in Paris.
“He’s got a very tough first round, but I could see him if he gets through that is Altmaier,” Gilbert said on The Big T Podcast.
Will players regret their decision to walk out of press conferences at Roland Garros?
Tensions are high in Paris!
Altmaier does have some previous at Roland Garros, having twice reached the fourth round at the clay court major, including last year.
The 27-year-old even beat Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros in 2023, while Altmaier beat Taylor Fritz last year.
Altmaier will be looking to cause another upset when he plays Auger-Aliassime in the first round of Roland Garros, where the main draw starts on Sunday, May 24.
