Did arguments over electronic line calling actually represent a step forward?<\/p>\n
The electronic line calling<\/a> (ELC) system is the letter of the law across top-tier tennis these days, but that didn\u2019t stop an old stalwart of clay-court season from cropping up at the Madrid Open<\/a>: Players arguing with umpires over ball marks.<\/p>\n Alexander Zverev, Mirra Andreeva and Elena Rybakina all asked a chair umpire to come down and check a physical ball mark they believed to prove a shot which the ELC system had called in was actually out.<\/p>\n Umpires declined to check the traces each time.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a joke. The system is wrong. This is not a joke. There is no such mark which is shown on the TV,\u201d Rybakina said, imploring umpire Julie Kjendlie to come down from her chair during her second-round match against Zheng Qinwen.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I have to go with. Now that we have live ELC, that\u2019s what we have to go with,\u201d Kjendlie said.<\/p>\n Since ELC was widely adopted at clay events on the ATP and WTA Tours last year, players have been educated on the fact that ball marks on the surface can be deceiving. The tours collaborated on a video explaining the discrepancies between the system it uses and the ball marks on the surface, which have been reiterated in other communication channels.<\/p>\n Clay is affected by environmental conditions, as well as how much red brick-dust happens to be on a certain part of the court at a certain time, and those conditions change from point to point as players slide and move around the court. A ball that lands in can leave a mark outside of the line; a ball that lands out can leave a mark that appears as if it has caught.<\/p>\n It was Andreeva\u2019s disagreement that was most illuminating. \u201cI understand that you cannot overrule. But as players, what do we do?\u201d she asked chair umpire Kader Nouni.<\/p>\n The players are still learning to trust the electronic system, after being told last year that the way they\u2019ve been calling balls on clay their entire lives no longer applies. There is also the possibility that players know the system is correct but sometimes, in the heat of competition, feel that their best course of action is to start an argument with the umpire.<\/p>\n There are other things the sport could do for fans, too. Broadcasters explain the system infrequently and commentators sometimes appear caught out during confrontations, while the top-down replays used during matches arguably make the situation worse. They reproduce the perspective of the confused player looking down at the court, not the system checking whether or not the ball has made contact with the line.<\/p>\n What instances like those involving Zverev, Andreeva and Rybakina in Madrid also prove is how counterproductive the upcoming French Open\u2019s decision to eschew ELC and continue using the physical traces of the ball is.<\/p>\n The tours have asked players to shift their mindsets about ball marks on clay, while the French Open, the only Grand Slam that hasn\u2019t adopted the electronic system, asks them to revert for a few weeks every year.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not good for a system that requires some amount of buy-in on clay, and it complicates things for viewers. The French Open is muddy enough already without it.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ava Wallace<\/p>\n How did a funky tournament provide some winning memories?<\/p>\n For those sweating at the thought of a French Open<\/a> this year without the Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry<\/a> to ballast the men\u2019s draw, the Madrid Open provided a delightful counterargument.<\/p>\n Between 23 withdrawals \u2014 including Alcaraz, who has announced his 2026 clay-court season is over due to a wrist injury \u2014 a viral stomach bug and a slew of early-round upsets of top players, this tournament should have been a mess.<\/p>\n But the tennis prevailed. When I think of this Madrid Open in the future, I\u2019ll think of Hailey Baptiste<\/a>, first executing, in a fourth-round win against Belinda Bencic, perhaps the most artful racket smash<\/a> I\u2019ve ever seen, then playing the match of her life to defeat Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Baptiste is no newbie on tour, but the first sustained look at her prowess on clay came during a tantalizing run to the fourth round at Roland Garros last year. She made good on that promise against world No. 1 Sabalenka in Madrid, unloading her abundant toolkit and playing the kind of courageous tennis that made it hard to stay seated on the couch while watching at home.<\/p>\n There was more from players ranked outside of the top 10: Frenchman Arthur Fils<\/a> rattled off an impressive run to the semifinals, meaning the worst he\u2019s done in his first four tournaments after returning from a stress fracture in his lower back is the last eight in Indian Wells.<\/p>\n Alexander Blockx<\/a>, 21, started the tournament ranked No. 69, took out four seeded players with his brawny game and outlasted 19-year-olds Rafael J\u00f3dar and Jo\u00e3o Fonseca in the draw to be the last youngster standing before losing to Zverev in the semifinals.<\/p>\n World No. 23 Marta Kostyuk<\/a> prevailed to win the biggest title of her career against Andreeva in a rare final between two players coached by women: Andreeva\u2019s Conchita Mart\u00ednez and Kostyuk\u2019s Sandra Zaniewska.<\/p>\n \n Marta Kostyuk celebrated her Madrid Open title with a backflip. (Clive Brunskill \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t the final match of the tournament, but Kostyuk pulling off a back handspring after winning the trophy summed up a Madrid Open which could have been a strange letdown: It was unexpected, and full of joy.<\/p>\n \u2014 Ava Wallace<\/p>\n What now for the wearables arms race in tennis?<\/p>\n![\"Marta](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Marta-Kostyuk-Tennis-Backflip-scaled.jpg\")
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\ud83c\udfc6\u00a0The winners of the week<\/p>\n