Denis Shapovalov italian open freakout

Viral video shows Toronto tennis star freaking out on crowd at the Italian Open

If you've never had the urge to throw your hands up at work and tell everyone bugging you to just SHUT THE F*CK UP already, congratulations on picking an atypically chill career.

The rest of us out here who aren't working on lavender farms are relating hard this week to video footage of Canadian tennis star Denis Shapovalov losing it on fans at the Italian Open.

Shapovalov, known by many as simply "Shapo," played an intense match on Monday morning against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in Rome — a match that he ended up winning, but not without a struggle.

As the sports outlets tell it, Shapovalov (who was raised in Richmond Hill) was down 3-4 in the second set of his more than three-hour-long first-round match against Sorengo when he was given a code violation for crossing the court to check a ball mark on his opponent's side.

Upset over the violation, the 23-year-old Canadian called over an umpire to dispute it.

As they argued, the audience of Italian tennis fans start to boo Shapo, at which point he turned around to address them with a fiery "SHUT THE F*CK UP!"

While the athlete has since apologized for his outburst, footage from the moment has been spreading far and wide, racking up more than a million views within hours on one Twitter account alone.

Tennis fan or not, we can all agree that stress-related work freakouts can happen to everyone, from overwhelmed restaurant dishwasher to elite profesionnal athletes. This tiny tantrum from a Canadian millionaire in Italy is proof.

Lead photo by

doublefault28/Twitter


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Sports & Play

Jeff Marek's long run with Sportsnet has come to an end

People can't stand the new Team Canada Olympic uniforms for 2024

Canada's Wonderland teases huge new ride opening in 2025

How to stream Olympic opening ceremony for free in Canada

Violent outburst occurs after riders trapped on Canada's Wonderland ride

Former and current Toronto Maple Leafs reunited at Michael Bunting's wedding

How to stream Paris 2024 Olympics for free in Canada

Race car driver forced to bike to Honda Indy conference due to standstill Toronto traffic