Things got awkward for Denis Shapovalov when he was introduced at the Brisbane International in Australia on New Year’s Day:
Tennis sensation Denis Shapovalov deserved better than this announcer destroying his name
One of tennis’ brightest young stars had his name butchered. It’s so unfair.
James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
His name is pronounced: DEN-nis SHA-po-val-ov.
His name was pronounced: DEN-nis SHA-por-OH-ral-AR-ov.
This isn’t good at all. It’s especially bad because Shapovalov is one of the brightest young stars in tennis and a legitimate superstar waiting in the wings — but also because he says his own name on the ATP website, precisely to make this kind of thing easier.
Alas, it didn’t help. Thankfully he took it all in stride:
We can revisit this moment in a few years when Shapovalov has won a bunch of titles and is one of the most famous players in the world.
