SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!
 
 
Facebook Social Button Twitter Social Button Follow Us on InstagramYouTube Social Button
NewsScoresRankingsLucky Letcord PodcastShopPro GearPickleballGear Sale

Popular This Week

Alcaraz: Pain-Free but Unwilling to Hit Forehand with 100 Percent Intensity Alcaraz: Pain-Free but Unwilling to Hit Forehand wit...
HJTEP 52nd Annual Gala Set for NYC, Tickets on Sale Now HJTEP 52nd Annual Gala Set for NYC, Tickets on Sale ...
Sabalenka: Watching Men's Tennis More Fun Sabalenka: Watching Men's Tennis More Fun
Nadal: Trying to Give Best, It's Not Always There Nadal: Trying to Give Best, It's Not Always There
Vondrousova Shares Heartbreak of Divorce Vondrousova Shares Heartbreak of Divorce
Lenglen Gets a Makeover: New Roof Set to Debut on May 26 Lenglen Gets a Makeover: New Roof Set to Debut on Ma...
Mauresmo: Nadal Seed at Roland Garros Not on the Table Mauresmo: Nadal Seed at Roland Garros Not on the Tab...
Net Notes - A Tennis Now Blog

Net Posts

Industry Insider - A Tennis Now Blog

Industry Insider

Second Serve - A Tennis Now Blog

Second Serve

 

Close Call Causes Konta Meltdown in Nottingham Final




When tennis tournaments don’t feature Hawk-Eye technology and thus have no challenge system, nerves can get pretty grated, particularly in big matches when there is so much at stake.

More: Barty Wins First Title on Grass | Federer Rolls in Stuttgart, Capturing Title No.98

Case in point: This delicate situation in the third set of Ashleigh Barty’s 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Johanna Konta on Sunday that featured a fair bit of drama at the finish.

The video above shows a disputed game point at 4-4 in the third set that was ruled “in” by a line judge and NOT overruled by umpire Paula Vieira Souza. Konta, defending, felt the ball was long and when she lost the point on the next shot she immediately took Souza to task about the call, complaining that the ball was out and that Barty’s winner should have been overruled.

Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, with no Hawk-Eye in play at the Nature Valley Open, she was unable to challenge and therefore granted no closure.

Konta felt that the shot was long, and that any chalk that flew up after the shot hit the ground was from residual chalk that had gradually spread beyond the lines over the course of the match.

Frustration, naturally, ensued.

“This is a joke,” Konta shouted at Souza. “An absolute joke.”

The British No.1 added: “We are out here literally busting our chops like no other and you are there and you’re making decisions that affect our lives.”

Konta was broken at 15 in the next game to end the match and refused to shake hands with the umpire before heading off court for over five minutes and delaying the trophy ceremony while tournament organizers waited, puzzled.


Konta would later tell media that she left court because she “wanted to speak to a couple of people,” but would not elaborate on who she spoke to or what was said, saying “That’s personal to me.”

Posted: