Denis Shapovalov was with Team Canada in Bologna for the Davis Cup as he prepares to return to the courts.
The Canadian spent pretty much the entire summer away from the courts with an injury, and it's been an interesting experience. He admitted at Wimbledon that he was playing with injury even though he never considered retiring.
He did miss all of the events after that, including the Canadian Open, which was unfortunate, but it had to be done. He talked a bit about just being away from the sport with an injury during his stay in Bologna, admitting that there are some positives to it as well.
“I think I’ve actually been very positive about it. I think it’s a kind of different part of my journey, my career, so I’m trying to do the best I can with it and accept it for what it is. Really take time to do other things, like go to weddings for example, spend more time with the people that are important to me.
Just trying to take time to really enjoy life. I’ve been on tour I think seven years now and I never really had a break. There’s definitely some positives in it. I am putting a lot of work into rehab and trying to get back. It’s just a different stage of my life.
So much of a tennis player's life is about tennis, and a lot of them really embrace having the chance to do some everyday mundane things away from the courts. Shapovalov has plenty of time to do that this year, and soon enough, he'll be planning his own wedding.
The maturation is clear, though fans are hoping to see him mature on the tennis courts as well. He has tremendous talent but has yet to really hit his peak.