Denis Shapovalov lost control of his emotions in his third-round match at Roland Garros and repeatedly thumped his head with the frame of his racket after committing an error.
Shapovalov was coming off a massive win over 25th seed Frances Tiafoe in the second round to advance into the third round of the clay-court Grand Slam for just the second time in his career.
It has been a stop-start season for the Canadian lefty, who is playing again after an injury hiatus that lasted six months in the second half of 2023. With just nine wins this year, Shapovalov was not considered a dangerous floater in the draw and used a protected ranking to enter the tournament.
But he appeared to pick up form in Paris, earning back-to-back wins for the fourth time this season. He met eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the third round, as he was bidding to reach the second week at Roland Garros.
That dream will likely wait for another 12 months because the former World No. 10 found himself two sets down as the match was brought to a standstill for a second day because of rain.
But the score could have been a lot different had Shapovalov converted a potential break point at 4-3, 40-40 in the second set. Instead, he misfired his shot, leaving him completely annoyed, and his reaction was borderline vicious.
As can be seen in the video below, Shapovalov took out all the frustration on himself, repeatedly hammering his racket on the top of his head. It's not unusual for tennis players to have a meltdown immediately after losing a crucial point.
Already at this year's Roland Garros, we've seen that have a detrimental impact. Andrey Rublev, for instance, was furious with himself in another infamous on-court outburst as he lost to Matteo Arnaldi.
France's Arthur Rinderknech injured himself during his second-round match after kicking the advertising board courtside and had to retire.
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