Fact check: Did Ben Shelton apologize to opponent after injuring his rib? A look at the controversial Monte-Carlo Masters moment

Ben Shelton found himself at the center of a controversy at the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters. The incident took place during a doubles match when the American, partnering with Rohan Bopanna, faced off against the Italian duo of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori.

During the second game of the match, with Shelton serving, one of the American's vicious forehands seemed to strike Vavassori at the net. Shelton immediately raised his hand as a gesture of apology, as is the norm in tennis matches. The incident can be seen in the following video.

The Indo-American pair turned the tide after losing the first set and trailing 1-4 in the second set to win the match in the ten-point tiebreaker in the third set. During the customary net exchange, Vavassori made his displeasure known to Shelton, stating that the American was too aggressive and had injured him. In response, Shelton lifted his shirt and claimed that he too, was hit during the match, and then went on to say that such occurrences were common in tennis, especially in doubles.

"It's tennis bro" Shelton was heard saying

However, what has added more fuel to the fire in the incident has been Vavassori's recent social media post. The Italian stated that he had suffered an injury and, as a result, has to withdraw from the event in Barcelona next week.

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Ben Shelton's run at Monte-Carlo comes to an end

In Picture: Ben Shelton (Getty)

Ben Shelton and Rohan Bopanna could not build on their win at the against the Italian pair at the Monte-Carlo Masters, as the duo crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing 2-6, 6-4, 7-10 against home favorite Romain Arneodo and Manuel Guinard. The Monegasque and the Frenchman will now take on the second-seeded pair of Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten in the semifinal.

Shelton's singles run in Monte-Carlo also came to a quick end, as the American lost - (2), 2-6, 1-6 against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round. The Spaniard is still in the draw and will face compatriot and second seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal.

This was Shelton's second appearance at Monte-Carlo, with his debut being in 2023. On that occasion, he suffered first-round exits at both singles and doubles. The American player lost 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 against Grigor Dimitrov in the first round of the singles competition. In doubles, he partnered with Cameron Norrie and lost against the German pair of Tim Putz and Kevin Krawietz in the first round. Overall, Shelton has one title on clay so far in his career, which came in Houston last year.