Mathieu Montcourt, who had been banned recently for betting on other matches, died overnight on Monday. The twenty four year old 119^th ranked player was found dead by his girlfriend on the stairwell of his flat in Paris on Tuesday morning. A statement released by the French Tennis Federation said that thus far, the cause of death is unknown, and there will be an autopsy. The Federation called Mathieu an enthusiastic, passionate, endearing and appreciated for kindness and polite manner. Rafael Nadal, who came to fame playing against Montcourt when he was on the Junior Circuit said that he woke up to the worst possible news, and that he is still in shock and unable to believe it.

Montcourt was given a five week ban from the sport in May as well as fined $12,000 for betting on matches. The ban began on Monday. This stemmed from Mathieu Montcourt betting on other matches. Montcourt had voiced his belief that the punishment for his betting was far too harsh at the French Open, stating that he had never bet more than $3 at a time, and he had certainly never bet on his own matches, which was later confirmed by the ATP which oversees the Men's Tour events.

The tennis player's girlfriend became worried after Montcourt failed to arrive at his Paris apartment. She and a friend were inside the apartment and eventually came downstairs, after leaving multiple voice mail messages, and saw him lying on the floor next to his bicycle. She called an ambulance, but Montcourt was already dead. Montcourt bet in total $192 dollars on 36 different tennis events in 2005, a fact which reduced his ban from eight weeks to five. A moment of silence will be held before the first match begins at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, Rhode Island