Antoine de Massy Monaco was found dead in a public garden on Sunday, after a relative went to Monaco’s Public Security department when he missed a family lunch. He was 29. Police later reviewed security camera footage and arrested a person near the scene.
Monaco’s prosecutor general opened an investigation to determine the cause of death. The arrest added a complication to the case, but officials had not said whether the detained person was a suspect.
Prince’s Palace statement
The Prince’s Palace said Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène learned with sadness of his death and shared in the grief of his family and loved ones. The palace also said, “Passionate about tennis, he was part of a family history closely linked to the sport in the Principality.”
That family link ran through Princess Antoinette, his grandmother, and Prince Rainier III, her brother. Antoine de Massy also had a public connection to the sport himself: he began playing tennis at age three, was introduced to it by his father, and later moved to Florida to train while in school.
Monaco tennis line
In 2012, he told Vogue Italia that his dream was “to become number one in the world,” adding that “Even in the top 20 wouldn't be bad!” Elizabeth-Ann de Massy led the Monte-Carlo Country Club and the Monegasque Tennis Federation until her death in 2020, and Mélanie-Antoinette de Massy now runs the Monte-Carlo Country Club, the Monegasque Tennis Federation, and the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
The sequence on Sunday was blunt: a relative became worried, the matter reached Monaco’s Public Security department, and hours later Antoine de Massy was found in a garden behind Villa Sauber. By Monday evening, police had a person in custody and an open file that still centered on one question: what caused his death?
