Furious Wimbledon star held back by supervisor after confronting umpire over 'shocking' incident
A top Wimbledon player had to be held back by officials as he furiously ranted at the umpire for a controversial decision during his latest match.
A turbulent opening four days at Wimbledon saw a record 36 seeded players eliminated from the historic tennis major, one more than at this stage of the 2020 French Open.
The likes of French Open winner Coco Gauff and British superstar Jack Draper suffered shock early exits from the competition, while just one of the top-five seeded women's players made it to the third round.
But one seeded men's player is yet to discover if he has made it to the third round, after match officials were forced to hold him back following his furious reaction in the final stages of his match on Thursday.
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As day four of Wimbledon 2025 came to a close, no.10 seed Ben Shelton faced Australia's Rinky Hijikata in the second round on court two.
After winning the first two sets 6-2 7-5, the American looked on track to seal a relatively comfortable win in the match as he led 5-4 in the third set and was about to serve.
However, as the time approaches 21:30 and the sunlight began to fade, the match umpire made the decision to suspend play for the evening, and Shelton was not happy.
Prior to the decision, both players had raised questions over if the match should have continued into the third set due to the low light.
But with potentially just four points left in the match, Shelton understandably wanted to just see out the game, allowing him to rest on Friday ahead of his next match.
Once the decision was announced, the 22-year-old was seen furiously questioning the umpire while waving his finger.
Ben Shelton reacts to his match against Rinky Hijikata being suspended at 9:29 PM local time.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 3, 2025
The match will be resumed tomorrow after play is suspended due to darkness. pic.twitter.com/6X3mFleai0
The two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist was so angry that another match official was forced to step in and hold him back as he approached the umpire's chair.
Shelton and Hijikata will now have to return to Wimbledon for the beginning of play on Friday, with the winner facing either Gael Monfils or Marton Fucsovics in the next round.
Where to buy last-minute Wimbledon tickets
The Wimbledon ballot may have closed for another year, but it’s not too late to buy advance tickets if you know where to look.
If you don’t mind splashing out on the experience, Seat Unique has the option to book ‘VIP Debenture Behind The Server’ and ‘VIP Debenture Front 5 Rows’ tickets.
These tickets offer 'unparalleled views' of the court, so you won't miss out on any of the action.
As for resale tickets, you'll want to head over to StubHub and Viagogo.
Ben McCrum