Tennis Player Suspended for Betting Found Dead at 24

This is a story you’ll hear more about I think: a French tennis player, Mathieu Montcourt, was found dead in his apartment building, of unknown causes.  This is extra sensational because 1) Montcourt was 24 and obviously in a more prime physical condition than most of us will ever see, and 2) Montcourt was recently banned from the French tennis federation for five weeks for wagering on games.  The ban was to take effect the day Montcourt died.

“[His girlfriend] was with a friend in Mathieu Montcourt’s apartment,” Dominguez said. “They came out after a while, having left him messages, and noticed that he was lying on the floor next to his bike … They called the (ambulance), but unfortunately he was already dead.”

So, an unusual place to commit suicide, and an unlikely action to take, given that his suspension was not particularly severe…  

Montcourt complained during the French Open that the punishment was too harsh, saying that he never bet more than $3 at any time, and never on his own matches—a fact confirmed by the ATP, which oversees the men’s Tour.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. It reduced his suspension on appeal from eight weeks to five.

Also, Montcourt, who grew up playing against Rafael Nadal, was only ranked 119th, so he probably would have been able to gain whatever rank slippage his ban cost him.  The autopsy has yet to be conducted.

Source: Yahoo! Sports.