Being live on TV seems stressful enough, now imagine you're getting groped whilst you're at it.
Yeah, not ideal.
That's what happened to Maly Thomas as she attempted to interview Maxime Hamou live on air.
Maxime Hamou (aged 21 and currently ranked world No.287) was being interviewed after his first-round loss to Pablo Cuevas on Monday, when the young tennis player decided to forcibly kiss Thomas.
Live on television.
What starts off as being kind of humorous (the presenters in the studio clap and laugh as it happens and Thomas places her arm around him in response to his around her) quickly becomes uncomfortable.
Hamou repeatedly forces kisses on Thomas' head as she cringes away, pushes his body and eventually tries to remove his arm from around her front as he pulls her away from the screen.
Despite Thomas remaining professional and continuing the interview, her body language is clearly signaling for Hamou to stop.
Thomas apparently described the episode as 'frankly unpleasant' in an interview with Huffington Post France, adding, 'If I hadn't been live on air, I would have punched him.'
The French Federation made a statement on Tuesday regarding the incident, saying, 'The management of the tournament has decided to revoke Maxime Hamou's accreditation following his reprehensible behavior with a journalist yesterday.'
A dispute committee will be reviewing the incident and he may face further sanctions according to the Guardian.
Ham has already apologised for his behaviour, saying,
'I want to offer my deepest apologies to Maly Thomas if she felt hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview,' Hamou told the French newspaper l'Equipe.
I just lived a wonderful week here in Roland Garros living my most beautiful emotions as a tennis player, and I let my overflow of enthusiasm express myself awkwardly towards Maly, who I know and sincerely respect. Nothing of all that is written was my intention. I am at her disposal to apologise to her in person if she so wishes. I learn every day from my mistakes to become a better tennis player and a better person.
Though showing remorse is something, what's difficult in this situation is that it hasn't happened in a vacuum.
We know that there is an issue with consent with male sports players worldwide.
The are frequent reminders that some sportsmen suffer from the toxic masculinity that the sporting world can create.
The sporting psychology of going to get what you want through aggression and will, as well as being somewhat deified by society, can give a sense of entitlement that leads to instances like this.
We know that in the US half of male college athletes admit history of 'sexually coercive' behaviour, such as sexual assault and rape, and in 2015 44 NFL players had been accused of some sort of assault.
This is clearly a relatively minor incident, but the message it sends is that women, no matter their professional capacity, are still at the mercy of men's desire.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
