Novak Djokovic has hit out at the absence of a video replay system in tennis after a match at the Cincinnati Masters ended in controversy earlier this week.
In the third round, Jack Draper sealed his win over Felix Auger-Aliassime after the umpire ruled that he had won the point. However, Auger-Aliassime argued that the ball hit his opponent’s racket and then the floor on match point. As a result, a lengthy discussion took place between both players and the umpire who stuck to his original decision. A video replay afterward backed up Auger-Aliassime’s argument but there are no such replay systems in place during matches. Meanwhile, Draper said he was unsure if he was in the wrong as he was looking across the court and not at the ball.
“I was too busy looking at him,” said Draper who lost in the quarter-finals to Holger Rune on Saturday.
“I didn’t see what happened. I looked at the umpire straight away to see if he called a double bounce or not.
“As a player, I’m trying to focus on what I’m doing. I can’t make that call if I’m not 100%.
“I said, when the supervisor came on, that if it was a double bounce and that he saw it clearly then I would have 100% replayed the point.”
The incident has triggered a surge in calls for a system to be brought into place to prevent similar situations from happening in the future. Last year the US Open was one of the first events to bring video replays into effect but it was far from perfect with some technical issues.
Nevertheless, 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has called for changes to be made to the rules. In a post on social media site X, he described the absence of such a rule as ridiculous and argues it leaves players in the dark about what happened until after they have played their match.
“It’s embarrassing that we don’t have video replay of these kind of situations on the court.” Djokovic wrote in reference to Draper’s match against Auger-Aliassime.
“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.
“We have Hawkeye for line calls, we live in the technologically advanced 21st century! Please respective Tours, make sure this nonsense never happens again!”
At the upcoming US Open, a video replay system will be used on eight courts. Players can make three incorrect challenges per set (plus one for tiebreaks). They can challenge double bounces, foul shots, touches, hindrances, scoring errors and if a ball in play touches a permanent fixture. However, it can’t be used to challenge code violations, time violations, foot faults or line calls made by the electronic system.
Like every Grand Slam, the US Open has its own governing body which means its rules are policies are separate from those of the WTA and ATP Tour’s.
