Victoria Azarenka calls out "useless" chair umpire at French Open 2023
Victoria Azarenka was livid with the chair umpire during her opening match at the 2023 French Open. She didn't hold back while voicing her opposition to his decision, even calling the official "useless."
Azarenka lost 6-2, 3-6, 4-6 in the first round to Canada's Bianca Andreescu on Tuesday, May 30.
The electronic line-calling system is not used in claycourt tournaments right now. While the ATP has announced that it will use the technology starting in 2025, the WTA is yet to take a call.
When line judges make a wrong call on claycourts, the chair umpire is required to climb down and check the ball mark. A difference of opinion between players and officials often leads to confrontations.
Such was the case when Azarenka disagreed with the umpire's call during the third game of the first set on Court Simonne-Mathieu. The 18th-seed Belarusian accused him of creating fake ball marks with his fingers and called for the electronic line-calling system to be implemented.
"You make marks with your finger! We need electronic line-calling because you guys are useless here! You're useless here," the two-time Grand Slam champion yelled.
Andy Murray and Holger Rune were also involved in similar tussles with chair umpires at the 2023 Italian Open. Andre Agassi's former coach Brad Gilbert recently advocated for the inclusion of Hawkeye on clay.
"So tired [of] seeing umpires get out of chair to look at mark on clay , always about interpretation of the mark, until I see Hawkeye review then I believe the call and they will get the right mark every time, not to mention it is [a] way quicker process," Gilbert tweeted.
seeing umpires get out of chair 🪑 to look at mark on clay , always about interpretation of the mark, until I see Hawkeye review then I believe the call 
and they will get the right mark every time, not to mention it is way quicker process
How Victoria Azarenka lost to Bianca Andreescu despite having a one-set lead
The match between Victoria Azarenka and Bianca Andreescu, which lasted two hours and 30 minutes, saw the two players break each other's serve four times each. While Andreescu hit 47 winners and 24 unforced errors, the experienced Belarusian star finished with 33 winners and 27 unforced errors.
Azarenka broke twice in the opening set and then broke again in the first game of the second set to lead 6-2, 3-1. That was when the 22-year-old Canadian changed gears to win five consecutive games to force a decider.
Andreescu had momentum on her side as she again broke Azarenka in the third game of the third set. However, she faced resistance from the 33-year-old at the end and needed five match points to close things out.