Shapovalov Ruled Out Of UTS Grand Final Due To Injury, Replacement Announced
News
Those who were excited to watch Denis Shapovalov at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London have been left disappointed after he withdrew from the event with an injury.
2024 has been an eventful season for Shapovalov. He missed the entire second half of 2023 with a severe injury and, understandably, started 2024 slowly after being out for a long time.
Shapovalov was also controversially disqualified from his Citi Open quarterfinal in August against Ben Shelton. The 25-year-old responded to someone in the crowd jeering him, leading to the umpire and supervisor agreeing to disqualify him.
After reviewing the incident, the ATP decided not to remove his ranking points and prize money from the tournament, usually the punishment for a disqualification. Shapovalov only paid a fine for the code violation in the match.
The Canadian later admitted to still being bitter about the incident, feeling he had been treated unfairly and should not have needed to pay a fine for what happened during the match.
Shapovalov's level then dropped again after showing some positive signs at the Citi Open. It seemed like the rest of the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist's season would peter out.
However, Shapovalov rebounded spectacularly at the Serbia Open in Belgrade, his final ATP event, with ranking points of 2024. He won seven matches as a qualifier to storm to the title, receiving the trophy from Novak Djokovic.
His last tournament on the 2024 ATP calendar was the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. A narrow loss to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinal confirmed a 0-2 loss and Team Canada's exit from the prestigious team event.
Shapovalov had planned to play at the fourth edition of UTS in 2024. Andrey Rublev, Gael Monfils, and Ben Shelton were the champions at this year's three previous editions in Oslo, New York, and Frankfurt.
The last edition of UTS in 2024 has been promoted with clips from conversations between Shapovalov, Dominic Thiem, and Thanasi Kokkinakis. That included Kokkinakis slamming Novak Djokovic's online fans for being abusive.
Unfortunately, Shapovalov will not be able to compete at the UTS Grand Final as planned. The Belgrade Open champion announced he has been struggling with an elbow injury since the Davis Cup Finals.
"Unfortunately, I’ve struggled with my elbow since Davis Cup and won’t be able to compete at the UTS Grand Final in London. But I really look forward to playing again in UTS next year in Guadalajara. I want to wish the best of luck to all the players in London, I’m sure it’s going to be a very fun week."
Ironically, Struff, who defeated Shapovalov at the Davis Cup, will replace him at UTS. This year's Munich Open champion played at both editions of UTS Frankfurt in 2023 and 2024, making him a familiar face to fans of the exhibition.
Although Shapovalov's withdrawal is disappointing, Struff is an excellent replacement, and other top players, such as Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Monfils, Alex de Minaur, and Kokkinakis, have also signed up for UTS London.
