Denis Shapovalov was defaulted from his most recent match at the 2024 Citi Open, but he appealed the decision and will retain the prize money and points he won at the event.
Defaults are not common in tennis, even though we've seen a few in recent years, which might indicate that they are, unfortunately, becoming more common. Shapovalov added his name to the list of players who were defaulted more than once in recent years, as he was once disqualified also from a Davis Cup match, even though this default was bizarre.
In fairness, most of the defaults are bizarre, but in this case, the Canadian seemingly didn't do anything special, at least according to his colleagues, who backed him.
Another ATP player, Andrey Rublev, was disqualified earlier this year in Dubai for swearing at a line umpire. After an appeal, the Russian could keep his prize money and the points won even though, by rule, a player forfeits both the moment they are defaulted from a match.
The ATP ruled in favor of Rublev in that situation, and they did the same with Shapovalov. Following his default for arguing with a spectator in Washington, the Canadian was defended by a couple of fellow players.
Shapovalov appealed the default, and the ATP announced that he would keep his prize money and points won at the ATP 500 tournament. The ATP announced that the umpire was correct in assessing the default per the rules; however, they also concluded that stripping prize money and points would be too much of a penalty for this incident, so it won't apply in this case.
"ATP has reviewed an appeal from Denis Shapovalov following his default from the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Washington. The fines committee has affirmed that officials followed correct procedures in defaulting the player."
"However, the committee has concluded that loss of rankings points and prize money, which is automatically applied in the case of a default, would be a disproportionate penalty in this case."
"Shapovalov therefore retains quarter-final points and prize money, with a fine of $36,400 applied for the code violation."
It's an identical situation to Rublev's incident, where the umpire assessed the default correctly, but they wouldn't take away the money and points because it would be too harsh of a punishment, in the ATP's eyes.
It's a minor consolation prize for Shapovalov, who wasn't happy with the default, but at least he didn't waste his time, effort, and money in Washington.
He will get money for his efforts and points as he will turn a new page at his home ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada. The Canadian Open will be a decent chance for him to continue a solid season of good tennis.
Because of the Olympics, the draw will also be a bit weaker in Montreal, which presents a good chance for the Canadian to earn many points and improve his ranking.
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