Alcaraz calls foul on himself, gives point to Shelton at Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz offered a standout moment of sportsmanship on Sunday during his fourth-round match against Ben Shelton at Roland Garros, where he called a foul on himself at a crucial moment at the start of the second set.

Serving at 7-6(8), 0-0, 30/30, the defending champion approached the net off a forehand and placed a volley into the open court. Shelton scrambled and fired a powerful crosscourt forehand, forcing Alcaraz to stretch fully for the reply. The Spaniard managed to make contact and appeared to hit a clean volley winner.

The point was initially awarded to Alcaraz, but the 22-year-old immediately alerted the umpire that he had lost his grip on the racquet mid-stretch and had made contact with the ball while it was no longer in his hand. By the rules, that meant the point belonged to Shelton.

Too much class from Carlitos, who gave the point to Ben Shelton after telling the chair umpire he did not have his racket in his hand when contact was made with the ball 👏#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ctCh7Lrrmq

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 1, 2025

In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz was asked if he thought about keeping quiet.

"You know, I have to say, I thought, 'OK, I could not say anything,' but I would have felt guilty if I didn't say anything about it," he replied. "It's just about if I know that I did a wrong thing, wrong shots or an illegal shot, I have to say. I have to be honest with myself. I have to be honest with Ben, with everyone.

"I think that's the sport, or [it] should be like this," he continued. "Just to be fair with the opponent, with yourself. I said it because I knew that it was an illegal shot. It shouldn't be allowed, so that's why I said it."

Despite conceding the point, Alcaraz regrouped quickly and held serve, saving six break points.

In discussing the incident, Alcaraz also noted a moment of sportsmanship from Shelton that went under the radar in the opening set: "Ben had another thing, for example. His serve touched the net. The umpire didn't [call] it, and [Shelton] asked me, 'We can repeat it if you want.'

"So, it's just about the respect we have against each other, and I think that sports in general should be like this."

Defending champion Alcaraz ultimately defeated Shelton 7-6(8), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to book his quarter-final spot in the French capital. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face Tommy Paul.