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Disgraced tennis star Maxence Broville has been named the winner of the Mister France beauty pageant following his seven-year ban from the sport. The former professional, 26, was suspended for seven years and fined $5,000 dollars (£3,637) in February 2024 by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for failure to cooperate with an investigation regarding match fixing.

Broville, who was born in Martinique before his parents moved to Auvergne, central France, in the early 2000s, held a career-high singles ranking of 708 in 2023. The Frenchman was provisionally suspended in June 2023 and has consistently denied all of the charges related 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.

As such, the 6ft4in star is prohibited from playing in, coaching at or attending any tennis event authorised or sanctioned by members of the ITIA (ATP, ITF, WTA, Tennis Australia, French Tennis Federation, Wimbledon and USTA) until June 2030, effectively ending his tennis career prematurely.

Shedding light on the nature of the ban, Broville said in February 2024: "They had suspicions about a few doubles matches dating back to 2017." Yet, he has managed to pursue other talents in his time away from the court.

After tennis, Broville moved into finance, working in banking while also developing a sportswear brand. But his true calling has been modelling, having been crowned the winner of Mister France 2026 earlier this month, effectively making him the most handsome man in the country.

The Auvergne representative claims to have had no experience in modelling prior to being spotted on Instagram by a modelling agency last year and deciding to give it a go because he "needed a new challenge."

It proved the right move as he emerged victorious from a selection of 27 candidates across France. The Mister France panel's criteria for judging candidates was "an attractive appearance, general knowledge, communication skills and a personal commitment to causes that are close to their hearts."

Broville says he is keen to champion mental health awareness, having suffered greatly during his suspension from tennis, citing depression and the use of medication. Since his triumph, his social media has been flooded with messages of support and pictures of him from the ceremony.

Addressing his 12,000 Instagram followers, he wrote: "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."

Also on his Instagram page, a pinned post of him shaking hands with Roger Federer captures the moment he played with his idol on the tennis court. It reads: "No words can describe how thankful I am to have shared the court with this legend. A real inspiration."