Madrid Open star explains retirement after telling fans to 'leave' and getting warning

Corentin Moutet has issued an update after retiring in the middle of his first-round Madrid Open match. There were fireworks when the Frenchman confronted some spectators, . Moutet then broke his racket and received a point penalty.

The world No. 82 didn't hit another ball and quit the match, immediately walking to the net to shake hands with the umpire and his opponent while being booed. Moutet has now explained that a back injury prompted his decision to retire, and he has since had an MRI scan.

Moutet was trailing countryman Harold Mayot 6-4 4-2 when he decided to throw in the towel. The physically hampered Frenchman had been trading words with some fans throughout the second set and, at one point, disappeared behind the stands.

Eventually, he decided enough was enough and retired after getting a second code violation, walking off Court 6 as boos and whistles rang out through the stands.

Moutet has now taken to social media to explain that the incident had nothing to do with his retirement - instead, he was playing through an injury.

"I went to do an MRI directly after my match I'm still waiting for the result," the 26-year-old tweeted.

"I wanted to try today but I didn't know that it would be that bad. My back didn't allow me to do much. I hope to be back soon on the court. All the best to my opponent for the rest of the tournament."

It's no surprise that the crowd's involvement bothered Moutet while he was playing through an injury. After appearing to confront people in the stands, the world No. 82 started venting his frustrations to the chair umpire at 2-2 in the second set.

Moutet was then broken after throwing in an underarm serve and, before heading to his bench for the changeover, he briefly disappeared behind one of the metal stands in the crowd.

He continued trading words with Mohamed Lahyani, the umpire, during the change of ends. When Moutet finally returned to the baseline to continue playing, he took aim at members of the crowd again.

"Leave if you're not happy. Leave the stadium, there is plenty courts," he said. Lahyani stepped in, reminding the crowd to be quiet during play, but Moutet told him it was too late to intervene.

The 26-year-old became frustrated again after losing a point to trail 30-40 in Mayot's service game and threw his racket at the back of the court. Some fans jeered him, and Moutet picked up the racket, bent it in half and started walking towards the net.

The umpire slapped him with a code violation and point penalty, but Moutet had already given up, and he was loudly booed as he packed up and left the court.

Moutet's retirement gave Mayot his first-ever WTA 1000 victory. The French qualifier will now face Sebastian Korda.