"There was electronic proof he won the point"- Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Ayan Broomfield shocked by controversial call in Canadian Open 1R loss
Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend and Canadian tennis player Ayan Broomfield has criticized a controversial decision that went against the American during his first-round loss to Alejandro Tabilo at the ongoing National Bank Open in Montreal. The defeat marks yet another low point for the 2022 US Open semifinalist, whose form has been in free fall since achieving a career-high ranking of World No. 10 last year.
The contentious moment came in the tenth game of the first set. At the time, Tiafoe was serving, with the game finely poised at 30-30. One of Tabilo's shots landed well out, and there was electronic evidence of the ball landing out. Inexplicably though, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani awarded the point to the Chilean, who eventually went on to break Tiafoe and wrapped up the first set.
The 2022 US Open semifinalist was clearly shaken by the decision, and it affected him for the rest of the contest, which Tabilo dominated. Ultimately, the No. 15 seed stormed to a resounding 6-2 second set win to seal his progress to the second round in his maiden appearance at the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 event.
Frances Tiafoe's girlfriend Broomfield was livid with Lahyani's decision, and later took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her disbelief at what had happened.
"Someone please explain to me how they didn’t give Frances this point when it was clearly stated that his opponent hit the ball out … genuinely confused," Broomfield wrote.
The Canadian went on to voice her surprise about the incident, stressing that the wrong decision was upheld despite there being "electronic proof" against the same.
"30-30, serving down 4-5. no player challenges, only electronic line calling. There was ELECTRONIC proof that he won the point," Broomfield added.
Frances Tiafoe assessed his drastic dip in form at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships
Tiafoe needed five grueling sets to get past Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the first round of this year's Wimbledon Championships. After the match, the former World No. 10 attended a press conference, where he touched on his downward spiral that began shortly after he had broken into the top 10 of the ATP Tour rankings for the first time in his career in 2023.
The 2022 US Open semifinalist lamented his fortunes and bemoaned "losing to clowns", a comment that earned him significant criticism.
"It’s brutal. Highs and lows. Think about where I’m at. Literally, this week last year, I was 10 in the world, and now I’m barely seeded here. Losing to clowns, I hate to say it, but I’m just gonna be honest," Tiafoe said.
Frances Tiafoe was ousted from the prestigious grasscourt Major by eventual finalist Carlos Alcaraz in the third round. The former World No. 10 later defended his controversial comment, opining that it was "taken the wrong way".