"He should quit tennis and be a gender activist" - Fans mock Denis Shapovalov after Indian Wells R2 exit

Denis Shapovalov has had a disappointing start to the 2023 season, to say the least. On Friday he suffered yet another setback, losing in the second round of the 2023 Indian Wells Masters.

Shapovalov took on Ugo Humbert in the Round of 64, but looked far from his best. The Canadian posed no real threat throughout the match and coughed up 14 double faults on his way to a straight-sets defeat.

Shapovalov also suffered opening-round exits at the Dallas Open and Delray Beach Open, along with early defeats at the Australian Open, Mexican Open and Adelaide International.

In that context, several tennis fans have taken to Twitter to express their disppointment at the 23-year-old's results. One fan harshly suggested that Shapovalov should stop playing tennis and become a gender activist instead.

This comes after the Canadian's recent endorsement of equal pay for men and women in tennis.

"Shapo the simp. Instead of improving his form, he's too busy trying to get some attention from the ladies. He should quit tennis and be a gender activist," they tweeted.

Another fan labeled the performance "extremely disappointing." They highlighted the Canadian's struggles on serve throughout the match and claimed that he "lost to himself."

"14 double faults from Shapovalov. That’s 3.5 service games gift wrapped nicely to your opponent in a 5-7 4-6 loss. Extremely dissapointing stuff. He was 3-1 up in Set 1 & 4-1 up in Set 2. I want to praise Humbert for his steadiness, but reality as usual: Denis lost to himself," they wrote.

Here are a few more fan reactions to Denis Shapovalov's dismal performance:

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A look at Denis Shapovalov's season so far

Denis Shapovalov at the 2023 BNP Paribas Open - Day 5

Denis Shapovalov's season kicked off at the Adelaide International. The Canadian began well, registering wins over Rinky Hijikata and Roman Safiullin, but was ousted by Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Shapovalov then traveled to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where he lost a hard-fought five-set encounter against Hubert Hurkacz in the third round.

Things went from bad to worse at the Dallas Open and Delray Beach Open, where he suffered opening-round defeats to Wu Yibing and Michael Mmoh, respectively.

At the Mexican Open, Denis Shapovalov defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, only to suffer a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Taylor Fritz.

After his disappointing campaign at Indian Wells, Shapovalov's win-loss record for the season stands at 5-6. He will be eager to get back on track ahead of the Miami Masters beginning on March 19.