Canadian tennis star
Denis Shapovalov has hit back at his
ex-coach coach Mikhail Youzhny for his criticism of lack of commitment.
The 41-year-old recently criticised the 24-year-old for not
giving everything on the court. “I felt like I can’t bring him the change he
needed,” he said. “He is listening, but he is not fully doing what he needs to
do in order to be a top player.
“Two or three years ago, he was one of the guys who could
consistently be in the top ten, but for that to happen, he needed to change a
few things outside tennis. He must be healthy 100%, first and foremost, and
physically better.
“Main thing, he has to try to put tennis as his priority. It
is his priority for most of the time, but in my opinion, he made some wrong
decisions where he didn’t make tennis as the priority.”
Shapovalov in a post on his official account on social media
platform X—previously known as Twitter — where he hit back on Youzhny for
making such remarks.
“Awful how can someone can go out of their way to say i’m
not giving everything for my tennis when I’ve dedicated my whole life to it
from the age of 5. Not to mention being injured since Wimbledon, rehabbing and
doing everything I can every single day just to get back on court,” he wrote.
Shapovalov did not have a great time on the court in 2023 where
he managed to participate in three out of four Grand Slams and missed the US
Open. His best outing in the major tournament in the recently concluded season
came at Wimbledon where he was knocked out of the competition after losing in
the fourth round to Russia’s Roman Safiullin with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-1,
6-3.