An ex-tennis professional who once played with Roger Federer has landed the top prize in a high-profile beauty pageant while being banned from the sport for seven years
Maxence Broville has been crowned the winner of the Mister France beauty pageant while serving his seven-year ban from professional tennis.
The 26-year-old was slapped with the suspension and a fine of $5,000 (£3,637) in February 2024 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for his failure to cooperate with a match-fixing investigation. Born in Martinique and later moving to Auvergne in central France with his parents in the early 2000s, Broville reached a career-high singles ranking of 708 in 2023.
The Frenchman was provisionally suspended in June 2023 and has repeatedly denied all allegations relating to the fixing of matches in 2017 and 2018. A hearing was held before independent Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer (AHO) Charles Hollander on January 5, 2024, where Hollander found Broville liable for breaches of F.2.b and F.2.d of the TACP, which relate to the failure to co-operate with an ITIA investigation, including refusal to submit personal devices for examination when issued a written request to do so by investigators.
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The 6ft4in athlete is now prohibited from participating in, coaching at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by ITIA members (including the ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon and USTA) until June 2030. This effectively put an abrupt end to his tennis career and ambitions.
In February 2024, Broville spoke about his ban, saying: “They had suspicions about a few doubles matches dating back to 2017.” Yet, he’s managed to carve out new career paths during his time away from tennis.
Following his suspension from the sport, Broville ventured into finance and even launched a sportswear brand. However, his true calling has been modelling, having been crowned the winner of Mister France 2026 earlier this month, effectively making him the country’s most handsome man.
Despite having no previous experience in modelling, the Auvergne representative was scouted on Instagram by a modelling agency last year. He decided to take the leap because he “needed a new challenge.”
His gamble paid off as he beat 26 other hopefuls from across France. The Mister France judges evaluated contestants based on “an attractive appearance, general knowledge, communication skills and a personal commitment to causes that are close to their hearts.”
Broville is committed to raising awareness about mental health, having battled depression and required medication during his suspension from tennis. Since his win, his social media has been flooded with supportive messages and pictures from the ceremony.
Addressing his 12,000 Instagram followers, he said: “A week already. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, near and far.
“Thanks to the Mister France committee for the confidence given to the candidates for this intense human adventure. Honoured to represent France. Can’t wait to see what’s next in store.”
Meanwhile, a pinned post on his Instagram page shows him shaking hands with tennis icon Roger Federer on the court. The caption reads: “No words can describe how thankful I am to have shared the court with this legend. A real inspiration.”