Antoine de Massy, Monegasque Tennis Player and Royal Relative, Dies at 29

Antoine de Massy, a tennis player from Monaco and a member of the extended Grimaldi family, has died. He was 29. The Prince's Palace, the official residence of Monaco's ruling family, announced the death on Monday, October 26.

Monaco is a small city-state on the French Riviera, ruled by the Grimaldi family for centuries. The family tree is wide, and its branches are easy to lose track of. De Massy was the grandson of Princess Antoinette, the elder sister of Prince Rainier III, who was the father of the current ruler, Prince Albert II. That made him a first cousin once removed of Prince Albert II.

Town & Country reported that Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene, said they had learned of the death with sadness. They extended condolences to his family and loved ones.

Tennis ran through his childhood. He started playing at age three, after his father introduced him to the sport. While still in school, he moved to Florida to train, and he hoped to one day represent Monaco at the Olympic Games.

Tennis is also a family business in Monaco. His aunt, Elizabeth-Ann de Massy, led the Monte-Carlo Country Club and the Monegasque Tennis Federation until her death in 2020. Her daughter, Melanie-Antoinette de Massy, now runs both organizations, along with the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, one of the sport's major clay-court tournaments.

According to the same report, he was found in a garden behind Villa Sauber, a property in Monaco, after he missed a family lunch on Sunday. Monaco's prosecutor general, the territory's chief prosecutor, said an investigation had been opened to determine the cause of his death.

Police used security camera footage to identify a person near the scene. That person was arrested and remained in custody on Monday evening. Officials have not said whether the person is a suspect. The investigation is still working to establish how he died.

For readers in the United States, the story is mostly about a young athlete who left home at a young age to train abroad, and a family whose lives have long been tied to the sport in a small country on the Mediterranean. The palace has offered condolences. The questions about what happened in that garden are still open.