Tennis world in shock after Denis Shapovalov's Munich opponent's 'most unhinged celebration ever': "You can't behave like that"

The tennis world was shocked after witnessing the exuberant celebrations of Denis Shapovalov's first-round opponent Diego Dedura-Palomero at the 2025 BMW Open in Munich. After playing the first round match, Dedura-Palomero became the first player born in 2008 or later to compete in an ATP Tour match.

Shapovalov entered the ATP 500 clay court tournament in Germany after the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters, where he was eliminated in the first round by Marcos Giron.

In Munich, the Canadian was seeded eighth, and in his first-round match, he went up against lucky loser Dedura-Palomero and lost the first set 6-7(2). In the second set, when the German was leading 3-0, Shapovalov was forced to retire from the match due to injury, and it ended with the score at 7-6(2), 3-0 retd.

However, it was Diego Dedura-Palomero's post-match celebration that caught the attention of many. After shaking hands with Denis Shapovalov at the net, Dedura-Palomero shouted in celebration, made a cross on the clay, and laid down on it, seemingly reenacting Jesus' crucifixion.

The celebration drew reactions from tennis fans, who took to social media to express their thoughts. One fan criticized Dedura-Palomero for his behavior on the court and lack of "sportsmanship."

"No kiddo, h*ll NO. You’re young and i feel you but you can’t behave like that, please have a little bit more of sportsmanship in the future," a fan posted.

Another fan mentioned that the 17-year-old's actions were one of the most "unhinged celebration" they had ever seen.

"This is - no exaggeration- the most unhinged celebration I’ve ever seen. Like, is he OKAY?" a fan wrote.

"What is he doing? Shapo retired this is so disrespectful," a fan posted.

Former Australian tennis player John Millman also weighed in on the celebrations, stating:

"Unsure I’ve ever seen a celebration like this one after your opponent has had to retire…"

Here are some other fan reactions:

"His opponent just retired and celebrating like he won the grand slam, shameless," a fan posted.

"Drawing a cross and laying on it like crucified Jesus is a bit wild though 😂," a fan wrote.

"It's a bit over the top when your opponent retire injured," a fan posted.

Despite the loss in Munich, Denis Shapovalov has had a successful season so far, winning the 2025 Dallas Open by defeating Casper Ruud in the final and also reaching the semifinals of the Mexican Open.

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After overcoming Denis Shapovalov, who will Diego Dedura-Palomero face at the 2025 BMW Open 2R?

Diego Dedura-Palomero during his match against Denis Shapovalov at the 2025 BMW Open in Munich [Images Source: Getty Images]

Following his win over Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the 2025 BMW Open in Munich, Diego Dedura-Palomero will next take on Zizou Bergs in the second round.

Dedura-Palomero earned his spot in the main draw of the ATP 500 clay court event in Munich by competing in the qualifying rounds. He was granted a wild card entry into the qualifiers and began his campaign by defeating Mackenzie McDonald 6-3, 6-1 in the first qualifying round.

Then, despite losing 3-6, 3-6 to Alexander Bublik in the second qualifying round, the 17-year-old managed to secure a Lucky Loser (LL) spot in the main draw following Gael Monfils' withdrawal from the tournament.

In his first-round match, Diego Dedura-Palomero overcame Denis Shapovalov to set up a second-round clash with Bergs. This second round match between the German and Bergs will mark the first time that these two players will compete against each other on the ATP Tour.

The winner of this match will advance to face either fourth seed Ugo Humbert or Fabian Marozsan in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 clay-court tournament.