"Back to the Circus”: Kyrgios, Bublik, and Eubanks weigh in on Shapovalov’s controversial default

Denis Shapovalov's default at the Mubadala DC Open surprised Christopher Eubanks and Aleksander Bublik, who took to social media to criticize the decision. The Canadian was disqualified while facing three match points against Ben Shelton after responding verbally to a booing from the crowd.

The former world No. 10 had previously received a code violation for racquet abuse. Shapovalov made an unforced error, giving three match points to his opponent, and, frustrated, threw his racket to the ground and responded to a spectator's heckling, which led the umpire to default him. The match ended 7-6(5), 6-6(3) in favor of Shelton.

It has been a tough time for Shapovalov, who missed the latter part of the 2023 season due to a knee injury. The Canadian has not achieved significant results since his return this season and has been outside the top 100 for the past 10 months.

Now, he faces another setback in his quest to return to the elite. The former Wimbledon semifinalist had secured three consecutive wins this season, and his presence in the DC Open quarterfinals guaranteed 100 ranking points that could have brought him closer to the top 100. However, the default will cost him both points and prize money for the week, nullifying his progress in Washington despite his good performance.

The disqualification was quite controversial, with many reacting against the umpire’s decision, including fellow players Christopher Eubanks and Aleksander Bublik. The American commented on X, expressing his 'curiosity' about what could be said to a spectator to warrant a default: “I’m curious what you can possibly say to a spectator that’ll get you defaulted…” Eubanks wrote.

World No. 25 Bublik also opposed Shapovalov’s disqualification, suggesting that the rules are becoming increasingly exaggerated. He commented that soon players could be defaulted for minor infractions: “We back to complete nonsense again? @atptour. Next time we going to get defaulted because we looked at the spectator the ‘wrong way’ but they can do and say whatever they want?” Bublik said.

In fact, Bublik himself experienced a similar disqualification when his opponent Andrey Rublev was defaulted for shouting at a ball kid during a crucial moment in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinals. The Russian lost both prize money and points, while Bublik advanced directly to the final.

Even Nick Kyrgios commented on a Tennis TV post featuring the default video: “Umpires are the best,” commented the Australian with a laughing emoji. In the same post, Bublik reiterated his thoughts: “Back to circus,” he commented.