At the Madrid Open, Alexander Zverev received a warning for photographing a ball mark. This incident highlighted the ongoing debate surrounding the use of electronic line calling on clay courts.
While electronic line calling is standard on other tennis surfaces, tournaments held on clay have traditionally relied on human line judges and the umpire descending from their chair to inspect ball marks during disputed calls.
Concerns have also been raised about the electronic system`s accuracy on clay due to the surface`s nature. However, this season, line judges have been removed from all ATP Tour events and many WTA Tour events.
As anticipated, these changes have led to issues. Top seed Alexander Zverev became the latest player to be angered by a call during his third-round match in Madrid, where he defeated Spain`s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(0).
During the first point of the tenth game in the second set, shortly after Davidovich Fokina had challenged a call, Zverev was certain that his opponent`s backhand was out. After the system called it in, he told umpire Mohamed Lahyani that there was a `malfunction in the system`.
When his protests were unsuccessful, Zverev retrieved his phone from his bag and photographed the ball mark. This action resulted in a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka faced a similar situation in Stuttgart recently. Separately, Victoria Azarenka shared a photo of a controversial call from a different Madrid match on social media.
The French Open remains an exception for now, announcing that it will continue to use line judges for its upcoming tournament next month.
In other Madrid Open news, defending champion Andrey Rublev was defeated by Alexander Bublik with a score of 6-4, 0-6, 6-4. This loss means Rublev will drop out of the world`s top 15.
In the women`s tournament, top seed Sabalenka also had a tough match, coming back after losing the first set to defeat Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. However, third seed Jessica Pegula and sixth seed Jasmine Paolini were both eliminated.
Pegula lost to Japan`s Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-2, and Paolini suffered a decisive 6-2, 6-1 loss to Maria Sakkari. Sakkari has shown improved form this week since working again with British coach Tom Hill.
