'I DON'T GET IT': STAR CONFUSED ABOUT LINE-CALLING INCONSISTENCY
- Christian Montegan
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
For the first time since 2021, it wasn't to be Iga Świątek's day on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and an "unfair" call led to a frustrating exchange between her and the umpire.
Świątek suffered a 6-7(1) 6-4 0-6 loss to top-seed Aryna Sabalenka, ending her streak of three consecutive Roland-Garros titles, as well as a run of 26-straight victories in Paris.
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Wrestling back momentum with a 4-2 lead in the second set, the Polish star argued with chair umpire Kader Nouni after one of Sabalenka's serves was called in.
"You waited for the ball to go out, and then when it went out, you went over," Nouni said confidently.
"It's here, but I won't go down. Iga, I'm not going down because I told you. We play, and then we go."
The umpire then pointed to the mark, explaining to Świątek that it was the wrong one, before the five-time Slam champion gave up shortly afterwards.
She may have decided to continue playing and stop arguing, but the former world No.1 continued her plea after the match.
"I don't think that was fair. He was coming down to check every mark when Aryna wanted to, even when the outs were like that," Świątek said to the press.
"When I had a mark that was out, he was convincing me that I only came there because I saw that my return was out, and I framed the return.
"I knew from the beginning that it's going to be out. I didn't really look at the ball. I just went to check the mark, and I saw the mark was out.
"I want him to come down, but he didn't, so I don't think that was fair, especially when he came down every time Aryna asked him to. I don't get it, but I don't really care."
Although Hawk-Eye technology has now been introduced for multiple ATP and WTA clay events, the French Open continue to rely on line judges.
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