The complaint surfaced on Rednote on Saturday and was picked up quickly by English-language tennis media. The timeline it describes is tight. Zverev had Court 5 booked from 10:30 a.m. He walked on at 11:50 a.m. Shelton and the young Australian Cruz Hewitt, due at noon, were sent to Court 10.

“You booked Court 5 for a 10:30 practice, and your hitting partner waited over an hour for you,” the Rednote post ran, as quoted by TennisTemple.

“Is this seriously not bullying?”

Court 10 is one of the more cramped practice areas at the Qizhong Tennis Center. Spectators who had come to watch Shelton, the No. 3 seed, and Hewitt were reportedly left peering through a fence.

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Not Zverev’s first flashpoint of the week

The practice-court claim lands a day after Zverev’s second-round opponent accused him of trying to break his rhythm during their match. Wu Yibing lost 6-4, 7-6(4) on Friday and did not hide his frustration in the mixed zone afterward.

“But there were some little incidents during the match, falling down, complaining about the lights, messing with the net tape. I feel like some of that really wasn’t necessary,” Wu told reporters, as carried by Tennis Up to Date.

“Even though I didn’t get distracted, personally, I just don’t appreciate that kind of behavior.”

Zverev had stumbled while hitting a backhand at 5-5 in the second set and appeared to tweak his left ankle, but recovered without calling for the trainer.

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Spectator account, no official response

Neither Zverev, Shelton, Hewitt nor tournament organizers have publicly addressed the practice-court claim. It currently rests on a single on-site spectator’s post, which spread from Rednote to tennis media over the past 24 hours.

Zverev is the No. 2 seed in Shanghai and still in contention for the year-end world No. 1 ranking. The ATP’s Friday roundup noted he can clinch the top spot by reaching the semifinals, or if Carlos Alcaraz and Shelton both slip up before then, the tour reported.

Shelton beat Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 7-6(6) on his 24th birthday to make the third round.

Zverev faces Frenchman Quentin Halys in the third round at the Qizhong Tennis Center on Sunday, according to the tournament schedule. He leads the head-to-head 3-0.

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