Shapovalov's teetering Australian Open fate

Canada’s tennis star Denis Shapovalov’s participation in the upcoming Australian Open remains doubtful after he admitted that he was not 100 per cent in his previous outing in Hong Kong. The 25-year-old was due to participate in an event in Hong Kong but failed to do so.

Shapovalov, in a post on his official account on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — rang alarm bells for his fans ahead of the Australian Open as he admitted that he struggled to produce the goods in Hong Kong.

"Thanks for the warm welcome Hong Kong. It was great to start my season with the amazing fans here ❤️ Unfortunately I have been struggling with a virus & disappointed I couldn’t play at my fullest, but I did my best to be out there. I hope to come back to @Hkto_mens next year,” he wrote.

Shapovalov does not have a great record while playing in the first Grand Slam of the year, where, despite playing in the main round on seven consecutive occasions, he only managed to play in the quarterfinal or beyond just once. His best outing in Melbourne came in 2022, where he was knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal to the former world number one Spain’s Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3. In 2024, the Tel Aviv-born star was knocked out of the Australian Open after losing in the first round to Czech Republic’s Jakub Mensik in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5, 7-5.