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Canadian Tennis Star Disqualified From Davis Cup For Hitting Umpire In The Face With Ball

How bizarre.
That's one way to make an exit from the Davis Cup.
Chris Wattie / Reuters
That's one way to make an exit from the Davis Cup.

When it comes to sport, the greatest bits are usually the moments of glory that athletes muster up out of nothing -- the ones that get people talking.

But there are also moments that become memorable for all the wrong reasons, where even the sports stars involved would rather not have been part of them.

Unfortunately for 17-year-old Canadian tennis player Denis Shapovalov, his bizarre exit from the Davis Cup on Sunday night in Ottawa, Canada is now one of those notorious memories.

The world number 234 was playing against Great Britain's Kyle Edmunds in the fifth and final rubber in the hopes of achieving a quarter-final spot for his country before losing the first two sets 6-3, 6-4 and going down 2-1 in the third.

It was then that the teenager lost his cool, pulled a ball from his pocket and attempted to hit it into the crowd to release some frustration.

Except it didn't go into the crowd. Instead, it flew across the court and smacked right into the left eye of match umpire Arnaud Gabas.

The stadium was left stunned into silence as Gabas grabbed his eye and Shapovalov rushed to see if he was alright. After applying ice, Gabas was unable to continue on as umpire and had no other option but to default the Canadian and award Edwards and Great Britain the victory.

Understandably, Shapovalov was left shocked and distraught, knowing his time in the match -- and Canada's time in the tournament, was over.

Afterwards, Gabas was taken to Ottawa General Hospital for precautionary evaluations.

"I feel incredibly ashamed and embarrassed and I feel awful for letting my team and country down," Shapovalov said, according to News.com.au.

Despite the youngster appearing immediately remorseful and also reportedly going to seek out Gabas in the referee's room following the match to apologise, not everyone was so forgiving with Canadian fans booing him after the nation's exit from the competition was made official.

At the very least, the young star did get tennis fans everywhere talking. They might even remember his name in years to come.

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