"He is a clown" - Denis Shapovalov booed, accused of being a 'sore loser' by fans after 'rage quit' retirement vs Joao Fonseca at Swiss Indoors 2025

Denis Shapovalov's campaign at the 2025 Swiss Indoors in Basel came to an unfortunate end on Friday, with the Canadian going out to teenage sensation Joao Fonseca in the quarterfinals. Shapovalov, after taking the opening set, retired midway through the third set and was booed by fans on his way out of the court.

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Shapovalov struggled with his serving throughout the match, with his issues only getting worse with time. He lost the second set 3-6 and was down by two breaks in the third set at 1-4. At that point, he decided to throw in the towel after a short conversation with the match umpire.

Fans on social media were confused by the move, with many speculating that it was only a 'rage quit' from the 26-year-old. They called out Denis Shapovalov for being a 'sore loser' for the move instead of going out fighting.

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"Did Shapovalov just rage quit front of a teenager ?? Coz what injury he got now ? Can anybody tell me i didn't see any issue," one fan said.

Raulgunner10

@Raulgunner10

Did Shapovalov just rage quit front of a teenager ?? Coz what injury he got now ? Can anybody tell me i didn't see any issue. #SwissindoorsBasel

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"Another retirement as Denis Shapovalov retires at 1-4 down in set 3 vs Joao Fonseca. Out of nowhere retirement, very poor last game. Some boos from the fans in the crowd as ge left court," another wrote.

edgeAI

@edgeAIapp

Another retirement as Denis Shapovalov retires at 1-4 down in set 3 vs Joao Fonseca. Out of nowhere retirement, very poor last game. Some boos from the fans in the crowd as ge left court.

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Here are a few more reactions from fans:

"Can't convince me Shapovalov quit for any other reason than he was going to lose. Sore loser."

Sean

@seankolo992

Can't convince me Shapovalov quit for any other reason than he was going to lose. Sore loser

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"He is just a clown, nothing new."

Weronika 🪩

@ajela55

@christianscourt He is just a clown, nothing new

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"No he was just angry/frustrated it seemed, he was arguing with the ump a bit back but it didn't look at anything major."

Spillin' Buffoon

@breadcyclone

@christianscourt No he was just angry/frustrated it seemed, he was arguing with the ump a bit back but it didn't look at anything major

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Fonseca, into his first semifinal at the Swiss Indoors, will next take on Jaume Munar. Interestingly, Munar also reached the last four after a retirement from his Canadian opponent, Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Denis Shapovalov still ranked inside the top-25 after Swiss Indoors exit

Despite his quarterfinal exit at the 2025 Swiss Indoors, Denis Shapovalov will continue his stay in the Top 25 of the ATP rankings. The Canadian is less than 200 points away from the Top 20.

Shapovalov is next set to appear at the Paris Masters, where he will be joined by the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and others. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has already announced that he will not be playing at the final Masters 1000 event of the season.

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Shyam Kamal

Shyam is a journalist and content manager who covers tennis at Sportskeeda. He has followed the sport for over two decades and considers Roger Federer the G.O.A.T. Shyam believes in accurate stories that provide detailed knowledge and insight, and strives to bring the same to his readers. Shyam has good understanding of SEO and journalism guidelines.

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