A controversial call during the Cincinnati Open has tennis stars asking for stricter enforcement of video replay.
Great Britain’s Jack Draper (above, left) won his round-of-16 match, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, over Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime (above, right) after umpire Greg Allensworth ruled a volley from the Brit as legal. Auger-Aliassime believed that Draper had hit the ball first before it hit the ground on his side of the court, but the umpire ruled it a “fair shot.”
The Canadian smiled in disbelief as he approached Allensworth, and even called in another Open supervisor to argue the call. Draper said he wasn’t sure what actually happened, but he was open to replaying the shot.
“If [the supervisor] were to tell me that it hit the floor, I’d play the point again,” Draper said.
But it wasn’t either of the players’ call to make. It was Allensworth’s decision, and he held his ground.
“We can look at it after the match and if I see it wrong, I’ll admit it to you,” said Allensworth, who was also involved in another controversial call earlier in the tournament.
“But that’s going to be too late,” Auger-Aliassime replied.
Had the Canadian won the point, the score would have been 40–40 in a game that if he won, would have tied the score of the decisive third set at 5 apiece.
Calls for Change
The replay of the shot has created a divisiveness among the tennis community. Some, like Australian pro Nick Kyrgios, thought it was clear Auger-Aliassime won the point, saying Allensworth made a “horrible call.”
Others couldn’t say for sure what happened after watching the replay. “I don’t think I have ever seen a shot like this,” Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Draper in the round of 32, posted on X.
But for tennis great Novak Djokovic, the incident highlighted the inconsistent rules surrounding replay in tennis.
“It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court,” the 24-time grand slam champion wrote on X. “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 ‘dark’ not knowing what’s the outcome.”
Video review is available in certain instances, particularly for line calls during the US Open, but even in that Grand Slam, only about 75% of the matches will use Hawk-Eye technology for line reviews. The use of Hawk-Eye would be difficult for smaller events because the installation of the tech for one court would cost $100,000, according to CNBC.
However, in the case of Friday’s match, Hawk-Eye tech wouldn’t even be needed. If the rules allowed a look at the broadcast feed, the umpire’s call could be overturned, allowing for a replay of the point.
