"Awful" - Denis Shapovalov hits back after ex-coach Mikhail Youzhny's assertion of him not putting forth necessary effort to become a top player
Denis Shapovalov has hit back after his ex-coach Mikhail Youzhny claimed that he isn't putting in the necessary effort to become a top player.
Shapovalov and Youzhny began their partnership at the Winston-Salem Open in 2019. The pair were successful as the Canadian achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 10 and reached the quarterfinals and semifinals at the US Open and Wimbledon, respectively, during their time together.
However, after the 2021 season, Shapovalov decided to part ways with the Russian, citing a business decision because he wasn't getting the results he had expected.
Youzhny recently spoke with Tennis Majors and claimed that Shapovalov attempted to rehire him during the 2022 US Open. However, he felt the Canadian wasn't doing enough to become a top player and decided his contribution wouldn't be beneficial to his ex-protege.
"He asked me to come to the United States, and I told him that I can come for the US Open. We practiced together, he told me more about his year and the problems he was having off the court. It was not easy for him to play. I was asked to be his main coach, to travel for maybe 20 weeks per year, and it sounded like a challenge I would want to take up," Youzhny said.
"We spoke a lot in New York, then we had numerous phone conversations afterwards, but my feeling was that nothing changed. I felt like I can’t bring him the change he needed – he is listening, but he is not fully doing what he needs to do in order to be a top player," he added.
The former tennis pro also said:
"He must be healthy 100 percent, first and foremost, and physically better. Main thing – he has to try to put tennis as his priority. It is his priority for most of the time, but in my opinion, he made some wrong decisions where he didn’t make tennis as the priority."
Denis Shapovalov has responded to his former coach's comments on X (formerly Twitter). He didn't name anyone, but he did say it's "awful" for someone to go out of their way to say such things.
"Awful how can someone can go out of their way to say I’m not giving everything for my tennis when I’ve dedicated my whole life to it from the age of 5. Not to mention being injured since Wimbledon, rehabbing and doing everything I can every single day just to get back on court," Shapovalov wrote.
Denis Shapovalov ended his season after sustaining an injury at Wimbledon 2023
Denis Shapovalov suffered a knee injury during his 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 fourth-round loss to unseeded Russian Roman Safiullin at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. His knee had been bothering him since he reached the final of the ATP 500 Vienna Open last October.
The Canadian decided to wrap up his 2023 season in late October by withdrawing from the Paris Masters. Before that, he had already opted out of the North American hardcourt events, the US Open, Asian swing and the European indoor tournaments.