“Shocked and disappointed” – Shapovalov on controversial Washington disqualification

On Friday night, Denis Shapovalov and Ben Shelton were duking out a great battle in the Washington quarter-finals of the ATP 500 in Washington. Then with the score 7-6(5), 6-6 (6-3) in favour of the American, the Canadian was disqualified by the referee – called by the chair umpire – after throwing his racquet and then having a verbal argument with a fan.

As well as losing the match, the world No 106 in the world had to forfeit his prize-money and ranking points. In the end, after appealing the decision, the 25-year-old was able to get both back.

He criticised “abusive fans” as well as the officials’ decisions in a post on X, writing: “I continue to feel shocked and disappointed over the decision to disqualify me from the match against Ben in Washington. It was not fair to me, him or anyone that was there to watch the match.”

He added that he was pleased that he had his points and prize money reinstated, but went on to say: “I do not agree with the hefty fine I was given, which is more than half the prize money I earned last week, and will continue to fight that.”

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