"Investigation immediately"- Fans enraged by US Open umpire's "scandalous" double bounce VAR decision in Anna Kalinskaya's loss to Beatriz Haddad Maia
Tennis fans were left fuming after a seeming double bounce shot by Beatriz Haddad Maia in her US Open match against Anna Kalinskaya was ruled in her favor. Several fans argued that the VAR system showed a “clear” double bounce. They accused the tournament and chair umpire of robbing Kalinskaya.
Kalinskaya and Haddad Maia took the Louis Armstrong stadium for their third-round match at the 2024 US Open on Saturday, August 31. The former was off to a dominant start, breaking the Brazilian tennis player in her first service game. She consolidated her break to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third game of the set, Anna Kalinskaya again produced three break-point opportunities but was unsuccessful each time. On deuce, Haddad Maia made a dash for a drop shot by her opponent. She, however, seemed to come up short as her racket picked the ball after a double bounce.
German chair umpire, Miriam Bley, however, ruled the decision in Beatriz Haddad Maia’s favor. Kalinskaya was quick to ask for VAR, which has been an important feature this US Open, amid several controversies involving contentious calls by umpires.
The VAR seemed to confirm that the ball had indeed bounced twice before Haddad Maia could get to it. However, according to Bley, the ball "touched the ground the second time," but it did so after "it touched the racket." While it should have been a foul in either case, the umpire stood by her decision, awarding the advantage point to the Brazilian.
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Beatriz Haddad Maia eventually clinched the game and later broke Anna Kalinskaya twice to take the set 6-3. The Russian, who was visibly shaken by the decision, was unable to recover. She managed just one game after that, losing the match 3-6, 1-6.
Tennis fans were left dumbfounded by how things unfolded.
"Anna Kalinskaya absolutely robbed here are we agree ??" one fan said.
"US Open I need an investigation on this Kalinskaya match immediately," another fan said.
"Kalinskaya robbed there. The video review system was supposed to stop these problems. Video evidence is clear. How could they rule Haddad Maia didn't hit it into the ground?" yet another fan added.
"What the f*uck seriously wtf what's even the point of video review if you can't implement them it looks as clear as it can get that it was double bounce but I guess they're blind or something," one fan questioned.
"Anna Kalinskaya is being cheated on it's insane," one fan said.
"What just happened in the game between Kalinskaya and Haddad Maia is a shame! In the middle of the US Open, with VAR, in a move so easy to understand and see there is a scandalous error. The fault is not the VAR but the lack of competence of those who use it," another fan opined.
Several fans were disappointed by Beatriz Haddad Maia's seeming lack of sportsmanship.
"Beatriz Haddad Maia saw very well what happened but she clearly played in an unsportsmanlike way. What a bad fall of style for her," one fan said.
Here are a few more reactions:
Weeks before Anna Kalinskaya's US Open fiasco, Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered the same fate
This is not the first time that a contentious call by a chair umpire has influenced the result of a match. During Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Cincinnati Open Round-of-16 match on August 16, chair umpire Greg Allensworth made a controversial decision in favor of his opponent Jack Draper.
On match point, Draper hit a questionable shot, which Auger-Aliassime contested. The Canadian claimed that his opponent had shanked the ball to the ground before it bounced to the other side. However, due to the lack of VAR at the event, no conclusive decision was reached and Jack Draper was awarded the match.
The controversial incident created a shock wave of criticism, with numerous former and active tennis players condemning the lack of VAR. Novak Djokovic, too, wrote a strongly-worded note blasting the organizers for the “embarrassing” situation.