Anna Kalinskaya was left stunned by a bizarre umpire decision during her US Open defeat against Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Russian was dismayed when Miriam Bley concluded that Haddad Maia had reached a ball before it bounced twice, seemingly despite evidence to the contrary.
Kalinskaya, who ended up losing in straight sets, called for a video review during the third game of the first set. She was sure that her shot had bounced twice before Haddad Maia reached the ball and returned it over the net.
German official Bley had seen the situation differently with the naked eye, and awarded the point to the Brazilian. She believed that Haddad Maia had reached the ball before it bounced.
Video footage of the incident appeared to agree with Kalinskaya. A slow-motion replay from one angle showed several times to Bley seemed to conclusively depict Kalinskaya’s shot bouncing twice before Haddad Maia reached it.
Much to the surprise of everyone watching, Bley insisted Haddad Maia had reached the ball in time. A gobsmacked Kalinskaya walked towards the umpire’s chair and began protesting, gesturing to the ground and then to the racket to portray what she had seen.
Video replays have been introduced to some courts at the US Open. However, players and fans will wonder what the point is if some decisions are still wrong.
It comes just weeks after Jack Draper was involved in a hugely controversial moment at the Cincinnati Open. Playing for match point against Felix Auger-Aliassime, the British star seemed to volley the ball into the ground before it went over the net.
But umpire Greg Allensworth did not see the ball bounce on Draper’s side of the net and awarded the point to the 22-year-old, who was also unsure if the shot had been legal. The incident prompted widespread calls for the introduction of video technology.
Novak Djokovic wrote on social media: “It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court. What’s even more ridiculous is that we don’t have the rule in place that would allow chair umpires to change the original call based on the video review that happens off the court!
“Everyone who watches TV sees what happened on the replay, yet the players on the court are kept in [the] ‘dark’ not knowing what’s the outcome. We have Hawk-Eye for line calls, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please respective Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!”
