Four-time Grand Slam champion and world number one, Italian tennis player **Jannik Sinner**, faced backlash on social media for taking a mandatory break during Canadian player **Denis Shapovalov’s** serve in their third-round match at the **2025 US Open**.

During the third set, with the score at 3-1 and the count at 40-40 on Shapovalov’s service, Sinner’s shoelaces broke. He had to pause briefly to change his shoes, after which he managed to break Shapovalov’s serve.

This incident sparked outrage online, with some accusing Sinner of unsportsmanlike conduct. However, he received support from multiple Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs.

“This is 100% allowed. He broke his shoelaces. Do you expect him to run around the court with untied shoes? I’ve seen this happen many times before,” Stubbs commented.