Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov has crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round, marking his worst performance in the tournament since 2019. With 11 double faults from Shapovalov during the game, Argentinian Mariano Navone was able to come back from a set down to beat the Canadian.
Born in Tel-Aviv – where he lived until moving to Canada as a one year old – to an Ashkenazi Jewish mother, Denis Shapovalov or “Shapo”, as he is commonly known, is the world’s 27th seed. However, the 26-year-old suffered a disappointing end to his grass season on Wimbledon’s second day.
Shapovalov certainly has big game experience. From beating Andy Murray in Wimbledon 2021 on the road to his first major semi-final, to defeating the legendary Rafael Nadal in Italy the year later, Shapovalov had hoped to go much further in this year’s grass court tournament.
In an interview with Tennis Channel last year, Shapovalov revealed his love for Wimbledon. “I definitely enjoy (playing) on grass.” He went on to convey his love for Wimbledon's “awesome” fans. “The atmosphere at Wimbledon is different from a lot of other tournaments. The fans are right up [close] to you. It’s great to have that support.”
JC readers may be slightly surprised to see him wearing a cross round his neck – the religion of his Russian Orthodox Christian father. Shapovalov has said that he identifies with his father’s faith. His mother, however, says she “considers him Jewish”.
Shapovalov’s talents appear to stem from his maternal side of the family. His mother, Tessa Shapovalova, was a former professional tennis player, representing the former Soviet Union’s team in international tournaments. To this day, she travels around the world with her son, coaching and supporting him.
Despite having previously been a fan of grass court tennis, Shapovalov didn’t take yesterday’s loss well, declaring afterwards: "The balls are the worst. This tour has become a joke. This is slower than a clay court. It's not even grass.”
According to an article on BBC Sport, Wimbledon's head groundsman Neil Stubley said that heat had contributed to slower courts but disputed criticism of the way the balls now bounced.
But don’t let any of that put you off heading down to the south-west London tournament to watch some of the world’s best tennis – and enjoying a kosher hot dog from the Chabad van –after a bowl of traditional strawberries and cream.
