The US Open's Gift to Atmane After His Withdrawal from Qualifying
Terence Atmane has just experienced the most thrilling moments of his career so far. Coming through the qualifying rounds at the Cincinnati Masters 1000, the 23-year-old Frenchman advanced all the way to the semifinals, defeating Nishioka, Cobolli, Fonseca, Fritz, and Rune.
In the final four, it was Jannik Sinner who ended his run. Before his match against the world number one, ATP cameras captured footage of the two players in the locker room before they took to the court.
Atmane had given Sinner a Pokémon card, as the Italian was celebrating his 24th birthday that day. The image quickly went viral. Unfortunately for Atmane, he couldn’t keep the momentum going.
Originally scheduled to compete in the US Open qualifying rounds, the player who broke into the top 100 after his impressive run in Ohio was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
While awaiting his return to the court in Chengdu in mid-September, Atmane received a gift from the organizers of the American Grand Slam. Indeed, Atmane, a big fan of the Pokémon universe, received a new, rather special card to add to his collection.
The card features his likeness with several characteristics: "Court Beast, allows hitting aces to inflict damage on the opponent if they are higher-ranked" and "Vortex Volley, a risky net attack that pays off with perfect timing."
This gift, given to the new world number 69, won’t allow him to compete in the tournament, but it’s still quite a consolation prize, which the player greatly appreciated, as he showed on his social media: "Thank you very much US Open," Atmane wrote in an Instagram story after discovering this wonderful surprise in recent hours.
US Open 
