The world number 287, who was granted a wildcard for the Grand Slam tournament played on clay, had his accreditation revoked by organisers following the incident with Eurosport's Maly Thomas.

The 21-year-old put his arms around Thomas' shoulders and tried to kiss her on the head and neck as she turned him away.

Hamou has since apologised for his actions, while Thomas admitted in an interview with Huffington Post France that "I would have punched him" had the pair not been live on air.

"The management of the tournament has decided to revoke Maxime Hamou’s accreditation following his reprehensible behaviour with a journalist," a statement from the French Tennis Federation read.

The incident occurred after Hamou was beaten 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 by Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.

Despite the widespread condemnation that followed, the initial response of the commentators in the studio during the Avantage Leconte programme was laughter.

Eurosport condemned the behaviour of Hamou in a statement.

"We sincerely regret the incident that occurred during yesterday evening’s interview between Maly Thomas and Maxime Hamou," the statement read.

"The behaviour of the interviewee was highly inappropriate and we do not condone such conduct in any way. 

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

In an interview with l’Equipe, Hamou apologised and claimed he was "at her disposal to apologise to her in person if she so wishes".

"I want to offer my deepest apologies to Maly Thomas if she felt hurt or shocked by my attitude during her interview," he said.

"I just lived a wonderful week here in Roland Garros living my most beautiful emotions as a tennis player, and I let my overflow of enthusiasm express myself awkwardly towards Maly, who I know and sincerely respect. 

"Nothing of all that is written was my intention.

"I learn every day from my mistakes to become a better tennis player and a better person."