Overview
- Rybakina, who beat Zheng Qinwen 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday, said she “won’t trust” Madrid’s electronic calling after a serve was ruled an ace despite a mark she believed showed out.
- The flashpoint came at 4-3 in the second set when Rybakina pointed to the clay mark and asked chair umpire Julie Kjendlie to check it, but the umpire refused and said she had to follow the system.
- Madrid replaced line judges with fully automated electronic calls in 2020, and under protocol umpires do not inspect marks or overrule unless the technology is judged to have failed.
- Despite the dispute, Rybakina advanced to the last 16 and is set to face Anastasia Potapova next.
- Past run-ins by Alexander Zverev in Madrid and Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart have kept pressure on electronic calling, yet organizers have announced no changes and the Hawk-Eye system remains in use, while the French Open still uses human line judges on clay.