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Denis Shapovalov apologises profusely for hitting umpire with ball

Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov has been fined £5,600 (€6,499) after hitting a...



Denis Shapovalov apologises pr...
Golf

Denis Shapovalov apologises profusely for hitting umpire with ball

Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov has been fined £5,600 (€6,499) after hitting an umpire in the face with a ball.

The incident occurred during his Davis Cup tennis match against Great Britain's Kyle Edmund.

Showing frustration at losing a point, Shapovalov, who won the Wimbledon Boy's title in 2016, smashed the ball with his racket, only to see hit strike the umpire, Arnaud Gabas of France.

The Great Britain team won the tie as a result, with the Canadian's actions meaning Edmund was handed the third set and a three to love win.

Although, Shapovalov has ultimately been fined, the International Tennis Federation felt the player did not intend to hit the umpire when he struck the ball and added that he approached the umpire in the referees' office after the match to apologise.

Shapovalov has since apologised again with a lengthy statement on his Twitter account.

He said: "Last night at my Davis Cup match I did something very unprofessional and inexcusable. In the heat of the moment after losing the game I lost control of my emotions and hit the ball with an intention of hitting out of the court.

"Unfortunately and absolutely unintentionally I hit Mr. Arnaud Gabas, the chair umpire. There is no excuse for this behaviour and I take full responsibility for my action. I'm very sorry to Mr. Gabas to whom I apologised in person. Very sorry for letting my Davis Cup team mates down and for letting my country down. I apologise to all the tennis fans, to my supporters and my sponsors. I feel ashamed of my unprofessional behaviour and will accept any consequences as a result of my action. I promise that I will learn from This and that this will not happen again. I hope you guys can forgive me.   

 

 

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