‘Openly Discriminating’ – Denis Shapovalov Reprimands Queen’s Club Over Their Treatment of WTA Players

Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov has not had a great year so far. Moreover, he also started his grass-court season in a poor manner. Recently, he lost in his very first match at the Queen’s Club Championships against the American tennis player Tommy Paul. 

However, he is still playing in the doubles event in the same tournament, partnering with Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna. Despite still playing in the tournament, the Canadian tennis player questioned the club’s rules and regulations involving female players.

Denis Shapovalov questions the policies of the Queen’s Club

Earlier, Shapovalov tweeted, “Ironic that @TheQueensClub is named after a powerful, extraordinary woman yet is openly discriminating against professional female tennis players by not allowing them to train at the club when they need to prepare for @Wimbledon. Time to review this policy #tennis #genderequality.”

After the Canadian player’s claims, The Queen’s Club released a statement, which said, “During the first five days of the tournament, the courts on site are solely for the use of ATP members. There are numerous other grass courts in London available to professional players who wish to train on grass.“

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It is worth noting that the Queen’s Club tennis tournament is an ATP-only event and all the ATP players who are taking part in the tournament can practice here. Also, if a player loses in the early rounds, they can still practice here at least for the first five days of the event. The club is also a private club, where members of this club can practice in addition to ATP players.

Shapovalov is not having a great year

Last year, Shapovalov had a terrific Wimbledon tournament as he reached the semi-final. Even though he lost to Novak Djokovic, he earned the respect of his opponent and the crowd. However, this year, he is having a terrible season. Often, we see him getting involved in an argument with the chair umpire or the crowd.

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Due to his behavior on the court, he has been performing pretty poorly in various tournaments this year. After a poor clay-court season, he was hoping for a great start in the grass-court season.

So far, he suffered two huge first-round losses in the Stuttgart Open and in the Queen’s Club Championships, respectively. However, he’s playing well in the doubles, as he reached the semi-final with Bopanna. If he wins the doubles event, it could potentially boost his confidence for Wimbledon.