If it’s Denis Shapovalov’s match, there’s usually no shortage of drama to keep spectators wondering what might happen next. Remember the 2017 Davis Cup? The Canadian famously hit the chair umpire with a tennis ball, earning a disqualification in one of the more bizarre moments of his career. Yes, things can escalate quickly.
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At the US Open, though, Shapovalov once again found himself making headlines. But this time, it was his complaints to the umpire during his clash with American opponent Ben Shelton that earned him boos from the Arthur Ashe crowd.
The incident happened during the third game of the fourth set, when Shapovalov was serving. After the rally ended with the Canadian’s shot hitting the net, he approached the chair umpire and made his complaints about Shelton’s grunts.
“I can understand the grunt, but the grunt is coming differently every shot. Hold on, hold on, on his serve, he didn’t grunt once. It’s inconsistent,” Shapovalov was heard saying to the umpire. “I’m just saying like a player should be consistent you know?”
Notably, the American made two types of grunts while playing the two different shots in the rally. It prompted Shapovalov to make his concerns known, which drew loud boos from the partisan crowd.
However, per the rules, an alternate pattern of grunting is penalized only when a player does so intentionally on crucial shots and remains silent for the rest of the rally. Moreover, under official guidelines, an umpire can penalize a player if deliberate or persistent noise is deemed to interfere with an opponent’s ability to play a shot.
The tricky part is deciding where a natural grunt ends and an unfair distraction begins. Since grunting is often tied to the physical exhale that comes with hitting the ball, that line is largely left to the umpire’s judgment.
In Shelton’s case, the American had grunted on every shot, and none of his grunts continued while Shapovalov was playing the shot, which is why the umpire did not give Shelton a hindrance warning.
As for Shapovalov, the Canadian has been penalized for serious on-court violations before, and one of the most notable incidents came against the same opponent, Ben Shelton. During their quarterfinal clash in Washington in 2024, the Canadian got into a verbal exchange with hecklers in the stands and was eventually defaulted for using abusive language while serving at match point.
He had also thrown his racket to the ground after sending a backhand into the net, earning a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. An ATP supervisor was then called onto the court.
What followed was a lengthy discussion involving Shapovalov, the chair umpire, Shelton and the supervisor. The chair umpire explained that Shapovalov claimed a spectator had provoked him, although he wasn’t sure what exactly had been said. “I heard it,” Shelton insisted.
The chair umpire then relayed Shapovalov’s response to the supervisor.
The supervisor, however, didn’t agree. Despite the match being at a crucial stage, with Shapovalov facing three match points, the decision stood, and Shelton was awarded the match after the Canadian was defaulted.
As for their recently concluded US Open clash, Shapovalov’s complaints did not have much bearing on the match, as Shelton wrapped up a victory in four sets despite a poor start.
Ben Shelton Remains Unbeaten Against Denis Shapovalov With His Win at the US Open
Coming into their third-round clash, Shelton had an unbeaten head-to-head record against Shapovalov, which remained after the American’s four-set win on Arthur Ashe. However, the home favorite’s form in the first two sets was not great, as his ever-reliable serve faltered, as did Shapovalov’s.
Both the first two sets went into tiebreaks, with Shelton winning the first and Shapovalov winning the second. However, both players struggled to hold serve in the first couple of sets, as there were eight service breaks in total in those sets, with Shapovalov missing the opportunity to serve out the first set, and Shelton missing the opportunity twice to close out the second set on his serve.
The quality of the match was not at its highest during those two sets, as both players made 61 unforced errors and struggled to find their baseline range, while also committing double faults at crucial stages. However, Shelton got his range back and was back in some form from the third set, as the American got an early break in the set and then held on to his serve to win it 6-3.
A similar trend followed during the fourth set as well, with Shelton breaking Shapovalov in the very first return game and staying strong behind his serve to win the set 6-4. By then, Shelton had found his rhythm, hitting 14 winners and making six unforced errors in the fourth set, while not facing any break points.
Shelton’s jittery win is in line with his performances in the first couple of rounds, where the American has struggled to eke out straight-set wins. In the last two rounds, he has faced former Top-10 players who are no longer in their prime, and for Shelton, that continues as he is slated to face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round.