"Is this seriously not bullying?" - Practice session drama as Alexander Zverev centre of controversial events

Alexander Zverev is currently one of the top players competing for glory at the Shanghai Masters. The No.1 seed is among the favourites for silverware, but he is certainly not making friends away from the court after a fan released a statement surrounding a practice debacle.

It involved Zverev along with Ben Shelton and Cruz Hewitt. The young Aussie turned up on time for his practice session with the American No.1, who was preparing for his third round match, but they would be met with a supposed nasty surprise from Zverev, who wanted that particular court all for himself.

The two-time Grand Slam champion had booked the court for a certain time period, but him coming very late had created some issues. With Shelton and Hewitt readying for their practice session, Zverev was making sure that he would complete his practice like nothing had happened, leaving Shelton and Hewitt to find somewhere else to play.

This was according to a person at the scene, who typed out the events on Rednote. "You booked Court 5 for a 10:30 practice, and your hitting partner waited over an hour for you... only for you to show up 50 minutes late at 11:50," it read. "Shelton and little Hewitt were supposed to start at 12:00. Little Hewitt got there right on time, but you literally kicked them out. So now they're sent to Court 10, and fans are stuck watching through the fence like a prison. Heh, is this seriously not bullying?"

Zverev is yet to tell his side of the story, nor has confirmation as to why this occurred been released. Zverev did play a doubles match that day with his very good friend Marcelo Melo, agonisingly losing 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

It would be a frustrating turn of events for the fans who were forced to watch Shelton and Hewitt practice on a court that was harder to access. Overall, a very messy scenario with still some context to be released.

Zverev is setting his sights on glory in Shanghai. The 2019 finalist has never won this tournament before, but the level of tennis being played is worthy of at least a strong title fight. His China Open aspirations were cut short thanks to an electric Novak Djokovic. He came back from a set to dump out Zverev en route to winning a seventh title, all while Zverev rued a missed opportunity for a third title this year.

While he has taken home the two Grand Slam titles, that is it for ATP triumphs in 2026. Zverev has gone deep in a number of events, but it has been the final hurdle where he has struggled at times. With no Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in Shanghai, his pathway is almost free of big rivals. Carlos Alcaraz is still very much in the hunt, but they will not meet until the final.

His next match comes against Quentin Halys. The duo have played three times this year, and Zverev has won all of them. However, it is slowly getting closer and closer between the two. At the US Open, Zverev battled through a five-set epic in four and a half hours. From that point, he only dropped one set on the way to the title.

The winner will either face Alexander Bublik or Brandon Nakashima in the last-16, with a possible showdown against Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals on the cards. Shelton's defeat has left the top half of the draw slightly more open and a chance for a lower ranked player to storm through and capitalise.