There are no line judges in Cincinnati, and electronic line calling is used instead. But when the system failed to call a ball out, there was drama during Fritz’s match against Brandon Nakashima. Nakashima sent a ball clearly outside the court but the automatic calls failed to kick in and the rally continued. Umpire Gregory Allensworth then yelled “stop, stop!” to the players and called a let.
He radioed Hawkeye officials for an explanation and Fritz stormed up to the chair, questioning why it had been given as a let when he clearly won the point because his opponent’s ball was out. Allensworth explained that things would have been different if Fritz stopped the point himself immediately but the American No. 1 argued that was irrelevant with automatic calling.
“Don’t tell me to stop the point when we have electronic line calling,” he replied. “I know but that’s how it works, you could’ve stopped the point and we could’ve looked at it then,” the umpire said, referring to the missed out call. Fritz claimed that Allensworth could also have stopped the rally but the official told him that he “can’t do that”.
Instead, the point was replayed. The decision sparked uproar on social media among other tennis professionals. The ATP has since conducted a review and changed the rules, confirming that there would no longer be replays for missed calls.
“ATP Officiating Update: After recent technical issues with Live ELC in Montreal and Cincinnati, we have conducted a thorough review of our protocols. Going forward, if the Review Official determines during a rally that a ball was out earlier in the point (but was not called by the system), that decision will stand,” the men’s tennis tour wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
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