NEW YORK — The U.S. Tennis Affiliation acknowledged Sunday that the incorrect name was made on an unlawful shot throughout a third-round US Open match between Anna Kalinskaya and Beatriz Haddad Maia an evening earlier as a result of the chair umpire was not proven the related replay by the video evaluate official.
“After the evaluate was full, a further angle was seen on the printed,” USTA spokesperson Brendan McIntyre mentioned. “The chair didn’t see this footage prior to creating the decision.”
McIntyre mentioned the event referee’s workplace “has strengthened” to the individuals who ship replays to officers throughout a match that every one “relevant” angles must be handed alongside.
The purpose in query occurred 11 minutes into the match Saturday night time at Louis Armstrong Stadium, with the Fifteenth-seeded Kalinskaya main 2-0, and the Twenty second-seeded Haddad Maia serving at deuce.
Kalinskaya, a Russian, hit a drop shot that Haddad Maia, a Brazilian, ran ahead to attempt to attain. She hit the ball simply at about the identical time because it was touchdown on the courtroom; the ball went over the web, and Kalinskaya, seemingly distracted as a result of she thought there was one thing incorrect with Haddad Maia’s reply, awkwardly swung her racket and whiffed.
The purpose was awarded to Haddad Maia. Kalinskaya challenged below a video evaluate system added to some courts on the US Open final yr for simply this type of dispute — not in-or-out line calls, however different issues equivalent to whether or not there was an additional bounce, if a participant was hindered or, as was the case on this occasion, whether or not a ball went off somebody’s racket and landed first on that participant’s aspect of the courtroom earlier than going over the web. That is generally known as a foul shot.
McIntyre mentioned this was the fifth use of video evaluate at this yr’s US Open. Most gamers assume all tournaments ought to use that form of expertise to assist chair umpires in making calls.
The match was delayed for 4 minutes whereas chair umpire Miriam Bley watched a replay — additionally displayed on the Armstrong scoreboards that spectators see — of Haddad Maia making contact with the ball.
The issue, McIntyre defined, was that angle solely allowed Bley to find out if there was a double bounce earlier than Haddad Maia made contact — there wasn’t — however not whether or not the ball got here off her racket and hit on her aspect of the courtroom earlier than flying over the web.
After Bley informed the gamers that Haddad Maia would preserve that time, Kalinskaya walked away shaking her head.
“Girls and gents, as we’ve simply seen on the video evaluate, to me, it might seem that the decision was appropriate, and that the ball touched the racket earlier than it touched the bottom a second time,” Bley informed the gang, drawing some boos. “Subsequently, the unique name stands.”
Haddad Maia took the subsequent level, too, and the sport, and there have been extra boos as the 2 went to the sideline for the changeover.
Haddad Maia ended up successful the match 6-3, 6-1.
