"Jelena Ostapenko was right all along";"Bring back linespeople" - Fans react as Electronic Line Call technology makes blatant error at Australian Open
An erroneous Electronic Line Call during a women's doubles match at the 2024 Australian Open has created controversy.
No. 4 seeds and reigning US Open women's doubles champions Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe were facing Chinese duo Jiang Xinyu and Hanyu Guo in the third round of the 2024 Australian Open. During the third game of the deciding set, a return of serve by Routliffe landed long.
However, the Electronic Line Call technology did not rule the ball long, confusing the players and the chair umpire. The umpire then checked to determine what had happened and went on to claim that Guo, the server, had touched the ball before it landed outside the baseline.
Many felt, however, that the replays suggested the ball had bounced before touching Guo's racquet.
While still confused about the line call, Guo and Xinyu accepted the decision and continued with the game. They lost the match 6-4, 1-6, 3-6. However, the incident sparked debate among tennis fans on social media.
Many fans hailed Jelena Ostapenko in light of the disputed call, remembering her criticism of the Electronic Line Call technology on many occasions during her matches. Fans said that the Latvian was right all along and recommended strict scrutiny of any technology used for matches as it can tilt the scoreline in one team's favor.
"Ostapenko will always be on the right side of history," a fan wrote.
"When you go to 100% technology with no backup," another fan commented.
"Matches can be rigged with technology like this," a fan suggested.
"I've always said to bring back lines people. Sure, the technology is 99.9% right, but the skill for the players to actually be strategic of their challenges and have good ball tracking is a skill that shouldn't be taken away from the game. The technology also brings less suspense, which is boring," said another fan.
Here are some more fan reactions to the contested Electronic Line Call at the 2024 Australian Open:
A look into the women's doubles draw at Australian Open 2024 so far
After week one of the 2024 Australian Open, four teams have booked their places in the women's doubles quarterfinals. Those are former Grand Slam champion pairing Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens, No. 4 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, France's Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, and No. 2 seeds Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova.
No. 1 seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula withdrew from the tournament before the opening round. For the remaining quarterfinal spots, No. 11 seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok will face Wu Fan-Hsein and Zhu Lin, while No. 8 seeds Beatriz Haddad Maia and Taylor Townsend will compete against Cristina Bucsa and Alexandra Panova.
The two matches left in the third round are No. 5 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund vs. Emma Navarro and Diane Shnaider, and No. 6 seeds Desirae Krawzyck and Ena Shibahara vs. No. 9 seeds Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani.