Shapovalov calls on ATP to better protect players

Canada's Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday called on the ATP Tour to better protect players from fan abuse after he was defaulted from his quarter-final match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open last week in Washington for arguing with a spectator.

After losing the first set 7-6(5) to American Ben Shelton and falling behind 6-3 in a second-set tiebreak, Shapovalov threw his racket down and suddenly found himself in a verbal exchange with a spectator before being handed a code violation.

The tournament supervisor was then called to court and a decision was made to default Shapovalov from the match.

The 25-year-old Canadian appealed the decision and on Monday the ATP said the loss of ranking points and prize money, which is automatically applied in the case of a default, was a disproportionate penalty.

But while Shapovalov will retain the points and prize money he earned last week he will still have to pay a $36,400 fine for the code violation.

Despite being pleased with the quick decision on his appeal during what he described as an "extremely stressful" time, Shapovalov is not completely satisfied.

"I must state however that I do not agree with the hefty fine I was given, which is more than half the prize money I earned last week, and will continue to fight that," said Shapovalov.

"We all work extremely hard - our tennis careers are our lives and we should not be derailed by unnecessary, subjective ruling. I also hope the ATP can put better rules in place for protecting players from abusive fans."