Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov took to Twitter on Monday to apologize for hitting chair umpire Arnaud Gabas with a ball after losing his serve in Saturday’s Davis Cup tie against Britain.
Shapovalov, having already dropped the opening two sets, was broken on his second service game of the third when his backhand sailed wide.
The 17-year-old launched a ball in frustration that flew into the left eye of Gabas, who was taken to Ottawa General Hospital for evaluation where no damage to the cornea or retina was found.
The match was forfeited and Britain took the tie 3-2 to move into the quarter-finals where it’ll play France. Canada will play a playoff in order to remain in the World Group for 2018.
The International Tennis Federation fined Shapovalov $7,000 for his actions.
The full unedited text of Shapovalov’s apology can be found below:
“Last night at my Davis Cup match I did something very unprofessional and inexcusable. In the head of the moment after losing a game I lost the 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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