Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov withdrew from his first-round match after crashing into a barrier and injuring his shoulder.
The Canadian chased down a forehand at 7-7 in the second-set tiebreak against Pablo Carreno Busta and was unable to come to a halt before crashing into the protective sheet covering the walls around Court 6.
He immediately pulled up in pain and called for medical treatment, with the umpire and Carreno Busta both running to check on him.
The tiebreak resumed after he received attention from a physio. He played one more point, conceding the breaker 9-7 as he sent a forehand into the net, and called for more medical treatment, still in visible pain.
The 27-year-old then decided to retire from the match and appeared to tell Carreno Busta, “Sorry man, I think I f***ed it.”
His withdrawal handed 34-year-old Carreno Busta his first win at Wimbledon after seven previous defeats.
Shapovalov reached the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2021, when he beat Andy Murray and seeded players Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov before eventual champion Novak Djokovic defeated him in the last four.
The Canadian has previously been ranked as high as world No 10 but now sits at 41st in the world after a difficult start to the season, having won just one match in the past two months.
He lost in the first round of the French Open and had only played three matches on grass before arriving at SW19, losing to former Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic in the first round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before defeating home favourite Jack Pinnington Jones at Queen’s last week, where he was then beaten by top seed Alex de Minaur.
Shapovalov is not the first player to retire at Wimbledon so far: Frenchman Luca Van Assche retired at 6-3 4-0 down against Marton Fucsovics earlier on Monday with a back injury.
