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Tennis star Tristan Boyer was disqualified from the Francavilla al Mare Open after causing a spectacular meltdown, as he smashed his own racket and then the umpire's chair, before storming off the court. Boyer, a third seed at the ATP Challenger event in Italy, was on the verge of being defeated by teenager Daniele Rapagnetta.

The American, 25, lost the opening set and then gave up his serve to go 6-5 down in the second, with Rapagnetta set to serve for the win. But the young Italian did not get the chance to see it out as Boyer appeared to take issue with the officiating during the match.

After sending a backhand out and being broken by Rapagnetta, both players let out a huge shriek, one of joy and the other of despair. But Boyer then repeatedly slammed his racket on the floor, obliterating it.

He made his way to the side of the court and briefly sat down, ready to grab another racket out of his bag to continue play.

The world No. 257 was initially warned by the umpire, but his tirade continued and as Boyer raged on, he was docked a game for racket abuse and Rapagnetta was handed victory by default.

At this point, Boyer unleashed a string of expletives at the umpire and shouted: "You're a f***ing moron! That's un-f***ing believable! Nothing happened! That's f***ing bullshit! F*** you man!"

He then broke his racket by repeatedly hitting it against the umpire's chair, before grabbing more rackets out of his back and smashed them on his courtside seat.

Boyer could then be seen storming off court and he slammed the door behind him as he left the arena.

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It is not the first time Boyer, who was on the cusp of the top 100 just eight months ago, has been involved in such an incident.

At last year's San Diego Open, he let rip at the umpire who handed him a time violation during a match, smashed his racket and once again, stormed off the court.

Under pressure in a second-set tiebreak at 4-4, Boyer lost a point on a close 'out' call.

He shook hands with his opponent, Alex Bolt, but quickly vented his frustration to the umpire.

"Unbelievable," he vented. "It's ridiculous. You guys can't do one thing right! God, it's frustrating. All over the place, horrendous calls. Horrendous calls!

"What are you doing giving me a time violation?! There are three people here. There are three people here watching me! Three people! It's the first round, it's ridiculous. We are not on TV. There is nobody watching, nobody is watching the stream. You're ridiculous!"