Australian Open: player shot down - referee repeat point?
Curious incident in a women's first-round doubles match at the Australian Open 2023: Neither the chair umpire nor the supervisor noticed that a player was hit by an opponent's ball.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jan 21, 2023, 05:27 pm
Alison Riske was not to blame: The American, who competed in doubles alongside young Czech Linda Fruhvirtova at the Australian Open, shot down an opponent with a volley in the first match between the two against Natela Dzalamidze and Alexandra Panova. And immediately apologized afterwards.
This is nothing unusual, especially in doubles. So point for Riske and Fruhvirtova and further in the text? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that. Because the German referee Nico Helwerth shouted "Let" after Riske's "Sorry". And let's repeat the point. Why? Because he had not seen that the American had hit one of her opponents in the leg.
But what is the point of having a supervisor who also happened to be sitting on the court? Well: to nothing. Because she stated that she had not seen the rally. And that the factual decision of the chair umpire is valid. Which brought the experienced Alison Riske even more to 180...
The incident had no impact on the outcome of the match. Riske and Fruhvirtova progressed to the second round, where they lost without a chance against the first seeded pair Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova.
laver arena