French Open crowd applauds Alcaraz for sportsmanship

Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz. Sipa Press

French Open crowd applauds Carlos Alcaraz for display of excellent sportsmanship

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 4:28 PM ET

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the world's top tennis players and a class act.

In his fourth-round French Open match against American Ben Shelton on Sunday, the 22-year-old Spaniard called himself out for breaking a rule.

Early in the second set, No. 13 seed Shelton fired a shot just out of No. 2 seed Alcaraz's reach. His racket slipped out of his hand, but the strings hit the ball over the net. Per ATP rules, if a racket isn't in a player's hand when it strikes the ball, the point doesn't count.

The umpire awarded Alcaraz the point, but he walked over and told the official he had made the wrong call, conceding the point to Shelton. When the umpire at Court Philippe-Chatrier explained what happened, the crowd applauded Alcaraz for his sportsmanship.

Too much class from Carlitos, who gave the point to Ben Shelton after telling the chair umpire he did not have his racket in his hand when contact was made with the ball #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ctCh7Lrrmq
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

Alcaraz conceded the point at a critical moment in the match. Had he been awarded it, he would've taken a 40-30 lead in the first game of the second set. Alcaraz saved the break point, though, and dominated most of the match.

He beat Shelton 7-6 (8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 for his 100th ATP victory on clay. The defending French Open champion will face American Tommy Paul in the quarterfinal on Tuesday.

New clay-level unlocked #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/mhnthQFhyM
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

Although Shelton lost the match, Alcaraz still praised him for his efforts.

"We both have huge respect for each other," Alcaraz said via ESPN. "Every time we face each other, we bring a high level and play good tennis. He's a really powerful player and can make any shot ... He's an unbelievable player."

It's always good to see players of Alcaraz's caliber show respect for their opponents and adhere to fair play.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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