What To Do When Good Sportsmanship Collides With The Desire To Win?
Chair umpires occasionally make mistakes. And sometimes the player who benefits from the mistake is aware that the chair umpire made the mistake. When this happens, what should the player do? Should he or she immediately inform the chair umpire of the mistake or keep quiet and unfairly win the point?
I have been thinking about this since watching the chair umpire make a wrong call against Alison Riske-Armitraj. In this instance, the ball hit Riske-Armitraj’s opponent in the middle of a point in a doubles match.
Riske-Armitraj, thinking the point was over, politely apologized to her opponent for hitting her with the ball. The chair umpire then called the point against Riske-Armitraj for causing a “hindrance” by speaking during the point.
Rule 24(i) of the Official Rules of Tennis by the International Tennis Federation states that a player loses the point if the ball touches any part of the player’s body or anything the player is holding except the racquet.
It reminds me of another, similar instance in which the chair umpire did not see Alexander Bublik get hit by a ball from Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev apologized and the chair umpire called a hindrance against Medvedev.
In both these instances, the chair umpire made a mistake by not seeing the ball hit the player. It should be noted that the chair umpire later (presumably after watching the replay on TV) apologized to Riske-Armitraj for the bad call.
What is the Hindrance Rule Regarding Talking During A Point
The ITF Rule 26 regarding hindrances, simply states that if a player is “hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent(s), the player shall win the point.”
The ITF rules do not specifically address whether speaking during a point is a hindrance. However, the USTA and ATP rules both specifically address this topic.
The U.S Tennis Association (USTA) publishes the “Friend At Court, The Handbook of Tennis Rules and Regulations.” Section 34 of the Friend At Court states that, in singles matches, players should not talk during points.
In doubles matches, talking between players is allowed while the ball is moving towards them. Talking between players is prohibited while the ball is moving away from them. If the talking is deemed to interfere with an opponent’s ability to play a ball, a hindrance will be called and the player who talked shall lose the point pursuant to ITF Rule 26.
The ATP Official Rulebook, which governs ATP Tournaments, similarly provides that a deliberate distraction caused by a player will be considered a hindrance and result in the loss of the point. On page 178 of the Rulebook, this specific case is addressed:
Opponent Makes Noise
Case: During play, a player thinking he has hit a winner, shouts “vamos”, “come on”, “yes”, etc. as his opponent is in the act of hitting the ball.
Decision: If the Chair Umpire rules that a hindrance has occurred then, as the sound or exclamation that caused the hindrance was deliberate, the point shall be awarded.
The WTA Official Rulebook doesn’t specifically address talking during a point but, like the ITF rules, provides that a deliberate hindrance by a player will result in the loss of the point.
So now that we know the rules regarding both what happens if a ball hits a player or if a player speaks during a point, what happens if the chair umpire makes a mistake?
What Should the Opposing Player Do If He or She Knows The Chair Umpire Made A Mistake?
In both instances above, both Alexandra Panova and Alexander Bublik obviously knew that they were hit by the balls. They knew that the umpire made a mistake. Yet, they said nothing. They let their desire to win “at all costs” outweigh their love of the sport and commitment to proper sportsmanship
As the ITF rules state, “the chair umpire is the final authority on all questions of fact during the match.” If Panova and Bublik explained to the chair umpire the facts by admitting that the balls had hit them, the chair umpire would have reversed the decision and awarded the points to Panova and Bublik’s opponents. Yet they said nothing.
With that said, one former professional explained to me that when friends play each other, they will often agree in advance with each other that, for the sake of their friendship, they will not seek to overturn any call from the chair umpire and they will abide by all rulings from the chair umpire. Given that both Bublik and Medvedev are laughing, and that Medvedev does not strenuously object to the bad call, perhaps they have a similar arrangement.
Good sportsmanship requires that players do the right thing and admit when a mistake has been made. In fact, the very first Principle of the Friends of Courts states: “Courtesy is expected. Tennis is a game that requires cooperation and courtesy.” Principle 13 further states: “The prime objective in making calls is accuracy. All players should cooperate to attain this objective.”
Riske-Armitraj went so far to outright accuse Panova of cheating and displaying poor sportsmanship.
These 2 incidents are rare occurrences, as most players behave appropriately. A famous example of “doing the right thing” is when Andy Roddick overturned a call in his favor on match point. Had he said nothing, he would have won the match.
Of course, he exhibited terrific sportsmanship and let the chair umpire know that the call was erroneous. This ultimately led to Roddick losing the match. However, he was still able to go to sleep that night holding his head high by knowing he did the right thing.
