Only 18 years old, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is quickly being acclaimed as the future of Canadian men’s tennis. At the U.S. Open this week, he continued his summer reign of beating top-ranked men’s tennis players.
The only problem? Announcers can’t quite say his name.
Common flubs include “ShaPOvalov” or “SHApovalev.” Announcers also seem to be stumbling over the “po,” pronouncing it either as “poh” or “paw.”
The player’s first name is similarly a quagmire. French speakers might be inclined to pronounce “Denis” as “DE-nis.” However, it’s pronounced “Dennis” — as in tennis.
As for his last name, the ATP tennis governing body was kind enough to have Shapovalov say it himself on their website.
It’s “sha-poh-VAH-lev”; the emphasis is placed on the “va” and the “po” is pronounced “poh.”
Nevertheless, with the player’s name likely to be showing up on TV a lot more, fellow tennis pros have suggested the Canadian take a nickname. In December, Austrian player Dominic Thiem suggested “Shapi.”
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