Credit: Eurosport
A fresh rules controversy broke out at the Australian Open on Wednesday involving world No 2 Iga Swiatek after she won a point despite hitting the ball following a double bounce.
Swiatek crushed American opponent Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 to book the Pole’s place in the semi-finals in Melbourne and maintain hopes of a final showdown against No 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who will face Spain’s Paula Badosa for a spot in Saturday’s final.
However, Navarro was left furious after the match and voiced her frustrations over one specific incident that occurred during the match.
What happened?
In her quarter-final against Navarro, Swiatek had won the first set and held game point for 3-2 in the second. Navarro drop-shotted her, Swiatek dug the ball out, and then drove a backhand away for a winner on her next shot. But replays clearly showed that Swiatek had reached the drop-shot on the double-bounce.
What do the rules say?
Navarro was entitled to claim a video review, but in order to do so, she would have had to stop the point mid-flow. As with Hawk-Eye challenges on line calls (a rarity these days, given the prevalence of robot line judges), players must make their request immediately, without playing another shot.
Has this happened before?
Double-bounce controversies are common in tennis. The elevated position of the chair umpire helps them see the lines but puts them at a difficult angle to judge whether a dying ball has touched the court or racket first. Even the players themselves sometimes do not know for sure.
Coincidentally, the very next match on Rod Laver Arena featured a similar situation, except that Lorenzo Sonego made an immediate challenge and was awarded the point because the video replay showed that his opponent, Ben Shelton, had not reached the ball on the first bounce.
Wasn’t there a similar situation last season involving a British player?
Yes. In August, British No 1 Jack Draper earned plenty of social-media hostility after he tried to half-volley a ball while close to the net at the Cincinnati Open. In truth, he jammed the ball down onto the court before it bounced over, creating what looked like a clean winner but was actually a dirty one. The fact that the incident came on match point made it especially controversial, and there was no video review available.
Draper’s opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime predicted that “we’re going to leave here, this will be everywhere and it’s going to look ridiculous”. Draper later admitted that he had been unable to think about anything else for four days, before explaining that “In that moment, I couldn’t do anything because I didn’t know – that was the honest truth of it.”
Who said what?
After the match, Navarro told reporters that “I think [you] should be allowed to see after the point even if you play [on]. It happened so fast. You hit the shot, and she hits it back, and you’re just, like, ‘Oh, I guess I’m playing’. In the back of your head you’re, like, ‘OK, maybe I can still win the point even though it wasn’t called. It’s going to be a downer if I stop the point and it turns out it wasn’t a double bounce’. It’s tough.”
Navarro added that she didn’t feel bitter towards Swiatek, saying: “It’s in the moment. I don’t know if she knew or not. Ultimately, it’s up to the ref to make the call. It’s tough to place blame on anybody.”
Swiatek pleaded ignorance, saying: “I didn’t see the replay because after the point I didn’t look up at the screens because I wanted to stay focused and didn’t want this point to stay in my head for a longer period of time. I wasn’t sure if it was a double bounce or I hit it with my frame. It was hard to say because I was full sprinting. I don’t remember even seeing the contact point.
“I thought this is the umpire’s job to call it. I was also waiting for the VAR, but I didn’t see it, so I just kind of proceeded.”
Should things change?
Yes, Navarro’s solution seems fair on this point. You should be able to wait until the end of the rally before applying for the video review. Apart from anything else, any rule which favours the use of the drop shot – tennis’s most exciting tactic – has to be a good thing.
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