'Stole the game from me': Wimbledon rocked by 'pathetic' moment amid Cruz Hewitt stunner

Yahoo

06-07-2025

Wimbledon was mired in controversy on Sunday night when Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had a game "stolen from her" due to an electronic line-calling error. And it was a mixed day for the Aussies, with Jordan Thompson forced to retire hurt but Cruz Hewitt winning on his Wimbledon debut.
Pavlyuchenkova was left fuming during her fourth-round clash with British player Sonay Kartal, and accused the officials or favouring the local hope. The automated line-calling system - which replaced human judges this year - malfunctioned at a crucial point on Centre Court.
Former French Open champion Pavlyuchenkova was robbed of a point while serving at game point at 4-4 in the opening set. Kartal hit a shot that clearly landed long - which prompted Pavlyuchenkova to stop playing - but the automatic system never made the call.
An automated voice call of "Stop Stop" then blared out over the speakers, causing more confusion as chair umpire Nico Helwerth had to telephone for help from tournament organisers. Helwerth eventually ruled that because the Hawk-Eye technology hadn't tracked the ball, the point had to be replayed - even though TV replays showed the ball was way out.
Hawk-Eye failed to call this Sonay Kartal shot out.Point (Ad Pavlyuchenkova) was stopped, and had to be replayed.Pavlyuchenkova then broken, and fuming. "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me."#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Gh4WHTIkgv
— James Gray (@jamesgraysport) July 6, 2025
Pavlyuchenkova then had her serve broken, and was raging at the changeover. She told Helwerth: "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me. They stole the game from me. You stole the game from me".
Thankfully for Pavlyuchenkova it didn't cost her the match, with the Russian winning 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals. Tournament officials later issued an apology, saying the situation occurred due to human error. But Pavlyuchenkova felt Helwerth should have showed some common sense and awarded her the point.
"I just thought the chair umpire could take the initiative," she said afterwards. "That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. I thought he would do that, but he didn't. I think it's also difficult for him. He probably was scared to take such a big decision."
Tennis fans and commentators were left gobsmacked by the controversial moment. Leading reporter Jose Morgado wrote on social media: "Simply PATHETIC situation on Centre Court. Pavlyuchenkova just lost a game that... she won. 4th round of a Slam. Centre Court. 'You just stole me the game'. She is right."
Simply PATHETIC situation on Centre Court.Pavlyuchenkova just lost a game that... she won.At 4-4. 4th round of a Slam.Centre Court."You just stole me the game".She is right.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) July 6, 2025
That's absolutely scandalous. The camera showed the ball clearly out and they don't give the point to Pavlyuchenkova? And how is it the line system can just randomly stop working at certain points? #Wimbledon
— Conor (@cjcw22) July 6, 2025
'You took the game away from me' Anastasia Pavyluchenkova is absolutely right in telling the chair umpire that.That is embarrassing for tennis.It's embarrassing for Wimbledon The ball was clearly out and the tech failed #Wimbledon #Kartal #Pavlyuchenkova
— Paul Johnson (@pjohnson_sports) July 6, 2025
It came on a mixed day for the Aussie contingent, with a battered Thompson forced to call it quits in the second set against American star Fritz. Thompson had produced a courageous effort just to make it as far as the fourth round, but his body gave up on Sunday.
No.5 seed Fritz was up 6-1 3-0 and 40-0 when a forehand swept past his stricken victim, leaving Thompson to shake his head and offer his hand to the victor after a 41-minute nightmare. Playing with a debilitating sacroiliac joint complaint in his back that has plagued him throughout the tournament, the injury was only exacerbated in the fourth game when Thompson leapt for a lob and exacerbated it.
"Everything in my body's already aggravated, and I think I just made it worse," he sighed afterwards. "It's just my back. And my legs are obviously very tight from compensating. Reaching up to get that lob, I don't think that my back liked it very much, and neither did my legs.
"I've been sore every day, and was kind of waiting for it to happen. I had been thinking of not playing this tournament. So I'm now just taking the positives, it's my best result here, so it's still a great tournament."
Thompson's spirits would have been lifted by seeing 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt win his opening match in the junior tournament on debut at Wimbledon. With father Lleyton watching on - who won the tournament 23 years ago - Cruz beat Russian opponent Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2.
Tennis fans and commentators couldn't help but notice the similarities between Cruz and his famous father. Bastien Fachan wrote on social media: 'Same backwards cap, same Yonex racket, same Nike heritage polo, same attitude. A carbon copy.'
Cruz is continuing to carve out a career of his own in the hope he can follow in his father's footsteps. He also won his opening-round match in the junior tournament at the Australian Open in January, but lost in the first-round at the French Open.
Chip off the old block 😲
— Sandra Stubbs (@SandraStubbs14) July 6, 2025
This taller #CruzHewiitt looks to have modelled a lot of his game on @NickKyrgios.The serve is good, f/h open, big & wristy, b/h compact.Could do worse. TBH it won't be a surprise to see more young players influenced by NK.
— Ripper Bewdy (@BewdyRipper) July 6, 2025
I feel old 🤣
— Girish Menon Photography (@wildlifegiri) July 6, 2025
with agencies