Tennis player Maxime Hamou has been banished from the French Open after repeatedly forcing himself on a female reporter – against her wishes – during an interview.

The Frenchman, speaking after his first-round exit at Roland Garros, repeatedly kissed and tried to grope Eurosport reporter Maly Thomas.

Thomas looked uncomfortable as program host and tennis legend, Henri Leconte, clapped and laughed, before she tried to push Hamou away.

The French Tennis Federation [FFT] acted quickly and revoked Hamou’s accreditation for the remainder of the tournament, saying the player’s behaviour was “reprehensible”.

Watch the incident below:

https://twitter.com/MikeMorgendorf1/status/869559990855577601

Hamou apologised for the incident on his Facebook page, posting: “I offer my deep apologies to Maly Thomas if she feels hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview.

“I have just spent a magnificent week here at Roland Garros … and I expressed my overflow of enthusiasm crudely towards Maly, who I know and respect sincerely.

“I’m still learning every day from my mistakes to become a better tennis player and a better person.”

Thomas told Huffington Post France that the incident was “frankly unpleasant” for her.

“If I hadn’t been live on air, I’d have punched him,” she said.

“It does not give a good picture of him, he destroys himself by doing this.”

Eurosport said they were pleased an apology had come from Hamou.

“The behaviour of the interviewee was highly inappropriate and we do not condone such conduct in any way,” they said in a statement to Reuters.

“Maly is a highly respected journalist and we are pleased that a full apology is being offered.”

Hamou, who had to qualify to play at the tournament, lost in straight sets to Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas in the first round of the French Open.

His coach, Martin Vaisse, said his player needed to “stop the nonsense”.

“[He] gets along well with the channel [Eurosport] and he wanted to be very friendly,” he said.

“But at the age of 21, one can also be very clumsy.

“I’m not here to make excuses for him, he made a mistake by acting the clown and he must be able to sense when it’s time to stop the nonsense.

“It’s a big point I need to work on with him.”

Hamou’s conduct was far worse than West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle, who attracted widespread criticism for his behaviour during an interview with Network Ten’s Mel McLaughlin in January, 2016, when he flirted outrageously with the reporter.