Katie Boulter Gets Into An Argument With Chair Umpire At The Madrid Open

Yahoo

22-04-2025

Britian's Katie Boulter took on Katerina Siniakova from the Czechia (Czech Republic), at the Madrid Open today. The first set was taken by Siniakova, as she and Boulter traded breaks.
However, a bizarre incident unfolded. In the second set, after Katie Boulter's first serve landed well wide of the service box, but was not caught by the Hawkeye. The chair umpire as well as the players noticed it and the play was stopped temporarily.
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The chair umpire radioed back to the technical team and got the call corrected. However, the entire fiasco took a lengthy amount of time and both players looked equally confused when the chair umpire refused to offer Boulter her first serve.
Katie Boulter (GBR) hits a ball against Elena Rybakina (KAZ)Katie Boulter (GBR) hits a ball against Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
'They confirmed the serve was fault and they will send the video on the board now." said the chair umpire. 'So, it will be a second serve, it (the Hawkeye) is working now, please continue play.'
'Second serve? How?' Boulter asked.
'Because they confirm that the ball was out,' the chair umpire replied.
'But it's been like 20 seconds since that came back,' Boulter said. 'So how can it be the second serve, that's ridiculous. It's not about the call, it's about the time it took to get back (to the video).'
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'I think the decision has been made to continue with the second serve." the chair umpire responded, standing firm.
It was then that Katerina Siniakova intervened and showed great sportsmanship, awarding the first serve back to Katie Boulter.
Usually in tennis, when there is a lengthy disruption of play between the first and second serves due to unforeseen circumstances, the player is awarded the first serve again. However, the chair umpire refused to acknowledge that a significant amount of time had passed since the whole ordeal had begun.
This incident further raises questions around the usage of Hawkeye for line calling and even more so on the clay courts. Multiple players on the tour have questioned the authenticity of the line calls and have expressed their concerns. In most matches a single wrong call could mean huge momentum swings.
Since millions of dollars are at stake, the tennis authorities would be wise to reconsider the permanent shift happening in line calling.