Alexander Zverev got a warning when he got his phone out while arguing a ball mark in Madrid
French Open organisers have gone against the grain at this year’s tournament.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen line judges making calls of “out” and umpires getting off their chairs to check marks, but they’re back at it at the French Open this fortnight. While the three other Majors and all ATP Tour events on clay have now introduced automated line calling, Roland Garros is the last remaining Grand Slam tournament not giving in to modern technology.
The president of the French Tennis Federation has now addressed the tournament’s decision to do things the old-fashioned way, citing a contentious incident at the recent Madrid Open when Alexander Zverev received a warning when he begged an umpire to get off his chair and whipped out his phone to take a photo of a mark that the automated system called in when his request was denied.
There have been countless instances of players standing at a line, pointing at an imprint on the dirt and arguing with officials, but the introduction of automated hawkeye was meant to resolve all of the issues that came with manually checking marks on the clay.
The players have only just gotten used to the new system, but they’re going back to basics in Paris. The French Open is opting not to use the technology, favouring linespeople, and FFT president Gilles Moretton has defended their decision, claiming the electronic system wasn’t good enough.
This is important for us. Regarding what happened in Madrid and what happened in Rome, the system used by the ATP and not yet by the WTA, seems to be not perfect,” he said on Monday.
“We know that it’s 10 per cent errors possible, 10 per cent. That’s what we know. Regarding clay, we think that it’s very important, because sometimes, you saw it with [Zverev] in Madrid I think, he took the picture. We think it can happen and it did happen already.”
French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton explained why they refused to use automated tech
Even the All England Club in Wimbledon, known for their rich history and tradition, have caved and confirmed electronic line calling will be in use this year. But those at the French Open don’t want to get rid of their line judges.
Moretton added: “It’s more human. First of all, we need those people working all year long in our tournaments promoting tennis in small clubs, being there for club matches.
“If we stop having those linesmen, referees, we feel it’s not too good for tennis in France maybe. I think it could be the same for other countries.
“I can understand not on clay, but on fast surface, with no mark, could be helpful. Like Wimbledon, it’s so fast now. I think it’s helpful. For Roland Garros, we want to keep our linesmen as long as the players agree with that.
“Sometimes the players say we don’t want no more. Maybe we will have to change.
Some of the players will be happy to see human linespeople back in action this fortnight, with the new system causing chaos in some matches earlier this year. Zverev said he was planning to speak with the ATP following his incident in Madrid.
The world No. 3 claimed the technology failed during a match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, urging the umpire to come and look at the mark and delaying play when he took a photo of it on his phone before being hit with a code violation.
“I honestly think that there was a malfunction in the system in that moment. That’s why I went to the umpire and I said, ‘Please, come down to have a look at this, I’m not crazy’. I can see what was happening,” he said at the time.
“I will talk to the supervisors, I will talk to the ATP, because as I said, this is not normal
