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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 23, 2025


Tennis has adopted VAR (video assistant referee) technology at the Grand Slams, and that is great news for the sport. The bad news? There are still limitations that need to be worked out.

Tennis Express

We saw exactly what those limitations were during Iga Swiatek’s quarterfinal victory over Emma Navarro on Day 12 (6-1, 6-2). When Swiatek notched a critical game point on a point that she should have lost in the second set, Navarro wasn’t allowed to challenge the call via VAR because she didn’t stop the play immediately to protest the fact that Swiatek had played a volley after it bounced twice on the court.


Rules state that a player must do so in order to benefit from the technology, but it’s too much to ask for a player to make that type of call on the spot – given how difficult double bounces are to detect with the naked eye.

Immediately after Swiatek was awarded the point, slow-motion replays showed that Navarro should have won the point, but by then it was too late.

After the loss, Navarro didn’t blame Swiatek for the mistake. Instead, she said that the system needs to change to get the calls right.

“I played the next shot, so I couldn't see a replay,” Navarro said. “I asked her after the point if I could see a replay, and she said, I played it, so I couldn't see it.

“I think it should be allowed to see after the point even if you play. It happened so fast. You hit the shot, and she hits it back, and you're just, like, ‘Oh, I guess I'm playing.’ In the back of your head you're, like, ‘Okay, maybe I can still win the point even though it wasn't called. It's going to be a downer if I stop the point and it turns out it wasn't a double bounce.’

“I think we should be able to see it afterwards and make that call.”

The point gave Swiatek a 3-2 lead in the second set. She didn’t lose another game the rest of the way as she advanced to her second Australian Open semifinal.

Navarro said it’s hard to blame anyone for the decision, even the umpire. Simply put, the rules need to change so players can be allotted a few challenges that they can use after the point.

“Ultimately, it's up to the ref to make the call,” she said. “It is what it is, I guess. It's tough to place blame on anybody. It's a tough call. I think the rules should be different… I think we, for sure, should be able to look at it afterwards and decide.”

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