Short of serious injury, disqualification is the worst way an athlete can leave a competition.
Unfortunately for rising Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov, that’s how he left the Davis cup. Worse, he was disqualified for injuring someone on the court. Worse still, the person he injured was the umpire.
Really, that’s about as bad as it can get.
https://twitter.com/MRisingStar18/status/828368872592044032
Frustration got the better of Shapovalov after Great Britain’s Kyle pulled ahead to lead 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. The 17-year-old fired a ball off into the crowd, but unfortunately managed to hit the umpire in the eye.
The umpire had no choice but to disqualify Shapovalov, giving Great Britain a default victory, putting them through to the quarter-finals.
It was an unfortunate outcome, as the ball hitting the umpire was clearly unintentional. Great Britain captain Leon Smith said of the incident: “A bit of a surprise what happened at the end there and I feel for the young lad. He’s a great talent and he’s learned a harsh lesson today.”
Photo: Andre Ringuette / Getty Images
Shapalov has apologised for his actions, saying that he is “ashamed and embarrassed”, promising that he will never do anything like it again.
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