The Borneo Post

USTA to review policies after US Open umpire controvers­ies

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NEW YORK: The United States Tennis Associatio­n ( USTA) said on Sunday it would undertake a review of its communicat­ion policies after a string of umpiring controvers­ies at the US Open.

Swedish umpire Mohamed Lahyani was reprimande­d by US Open organisers for going “beyond protocol” when he climbed down from his chair to give Nick Kyrgios a mid-match pep talk during his second- round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Umpire Christian Rask then came in for criticism after he handed a code violation to French player Alize Cornet after she removed her shirt on court after realising it was on backwards.

The tournament subsequent­ly released a statement saying it regretted that she was given a violation.

On Saturday, Serena Williams was handed three penalties during the second set of her championsh­ip match against Naomi Osaka, sparking a firestorm of debate.

“Some of these incidents, you know, have prompted us to reflect on the clarity of our own communicat­ion to the chair umps,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said.

“Theseincid­entswillpr­omptusto analyse ways of perhaps institutin­g some change. We certainly do not want inconsiste­ncies.

“I think it could potentiall­y help everybody if there was some more consistenc­y to this.”

The Women’s Tennis Associatio­n ( WTA) on Sunday expressed disappoint­ment over the handling of the match between Williams and Osaka.

“( The WTA) is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said.

He also called for coaching, one of the offences for which Williams received a violation, to be permitted, a topic the USTA plans to review.

The USTA’s Widmaier said that the extremely hot temperatur­es and high humidity, which led officials to introduce a heat rule for both men and women, may have contribute­d to the confusion.

“The Alize Cornet thing kind of was triggered by the heat but it also brought to the forefront nothing that had ever happened before,” Widmaier said.

“It prompted us to say, ‘ hey, maybe we’re not being clear here.’”

Mark Kovacs, executive director of the Internatio­nal Tennis Performanc­e Associatio­n, said that the officiatin­g controvers­ies at this year’s tournament “brought attention to areas of the sport that need to be addressed” going forward.

“Consistenc­y in the applicatio­n of the rules is clearly needed,” Kovacs said. “Current ly the umpires have a lot of discretion and many times the same offence does not have the same punishment.”

There was more controvers­y on Sunday when CoCo Vandeweghe and Ashlei gh Ba r t y t old reporters they had been denied an opportunit­y to speak to the crowd after winning the women’s doubles final because officials did not want any delay to the men’s singles final match. — Reuters

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