Fans looked bemused as the 26-year-old world number 96 offered token resistance, barely running for shots as the 34-year-old Tsonga cruised through to the second round.
Social media channels lit up with Wimbledon followers slating Tomic's apparent lack of effort with "appalling", "embarrassing" and "playing in slow motion" just some of the descriptions of what they had seen.
Former British number one John Lloyd, analysing the match for the BBC, said he could have watched a more competitive match in his local park.
Tomic has been in trouble for "tanking" (not trying) during matches before and was fined $15,000 here in 2017 after admitting faking an injury during a loss to Mischa Zverev in the first round, saying later he was "bored" with Wimbledon.
Later, when asked whether he was satisfied with his effort against Tsonga, he said: "Next question please."
Asked to sum up his performance he said: "I played pretty bad." Asked to elaborate, he said: "I just played terrible."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
