Denis Shapovalov is one of the great young players in men’s tennis, especially after his star-making performance at the Rogers Cup last August. But what seems to be still hampering one of the game’s considerable young talents are bananas, specifically, being able to peel them easily during a changeover.
This win is bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S!#AusOpen @denis_shapo pic.twitter.com/pW3hPnzkmp
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 15, 2018
Now while we don’t appreciate references here to one of the worst songs ever written by anyone, seeing Shapovalov struggle with a banana more than he did with his opponent certainly makes us laugh. At the start of these majors, we often see similar silliness like this, and it always lightens the mood. His coaches weren’t too pleased with his lack of dexterity because of course, the cameras found them at just the right time.
Weirdly enough, Shapovalov wasn’t the only player that had a bit of an incident with a banana. CoCo Vandeweghe, who was playing her match after reportedly suffering from the flu, refused to play until she ate a banana first. This created a pretty weird back-and-forth between her and match officials, which included the word “rude” because of course, it did.
CoCo Vandeweghe had gotten her first code violation earlier for time violation/civil disobedience: refusing to take court without eating a banana first. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/6Opg7xon2N
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 15, 2018
This was CoCo Vandeweghe's second code violation. Think it was called unsportsmanlike conduct rather than audible obscenity because it was directed at opponent. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/9O2vJx1QR1
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 15, 2018
Shapovalov won, but CoCo lost her match. Bananas it turns out are incredibly crucial for the success of big-name tennis players at the biggest of moments, and they will not be denied getting one, whether it be from another person or the banana itself.
