That’s bulls***!!Are you sure that ball was out? By how much? Are you sure? Anyone who has played tennis can relate to this outrage and disbelief after your opponent makes a questionable call at match point. But, bad line calls are simply part of tennis that requires everyone from players to parents to keep their gamesmanship and temperaments in check.

WILLIAMS-CAPRIATI CONTROVERSY

“Please…….please,” said chair umpire, Mariana Alves through the microphone attempting to quiet the noisy crowd. “Thank you,” Alves responded to the silencing of whispers and cheers. “Serena Williams to begin serve in the third set.”

The second match of the 2004 U.S. Open semifinal was shaping up to be another three-set battle between American rivals, Jennifer Capriati and Serena Williams. When suddenly, Williams came up on the wrong end of a call as Alves overruled the line judge calling the ball out when it was obvious that the ball landed two centimeters inside the line. Boos and whistles came over the crowd; Williams stormed towards the chair, screaming at Alves for what she believed was one of the many bad overrules of the match.

Williams went on to lose the match 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, seemingly unable to overcome the erroneous call by the chair umpire. Alves was relieved of her duties for the remainder of the tournament.

It seems as though bad line calls run in the Williams family. In the 2001 Wimbledon Championships featuring Serena’s sister Venus and up-and coming Karolina Sprem of Croatia, chair umpire Tedd Watts awarded the fourth point of the second-set tie-breaker to Sprem after she hit away a Williams return that was an obvious fault. Williams won the real point, but what should have read 3-1 for Williams on the scoreboard, was 3-2 instead.

Although neither player questioned the score, there was obvious confusion among the crowd as whistles and whispers mounted in the stands. Williams lost the match and her chance to win back-to-back Wimbledon Championships.

IT'S PART OF SPORT

“Everyone who has played tennis has experienced a bad line call one time or another,” said sophomore tennis player Jacquelyn Cary of the Niagara University Purple Eagles’ women’s tennis team.

“It [bad line calls] is part of sport,” said Paul Calkins, who is into his fifth year as coach of the Niagara women’s tennis team and eighth year as a qualified USTA official.

The general consensus among players, parents, coaches and umpires is that humans are not perfect. People make mistakes. “In tennis, a game where players have a choice of 22 different shots to hit in less than three tenths of a second, human error can occur,” said Calkins.

A GENTLEMAN'S GAME, NOT A CHEATING FEST 

Thirty-year veteran tennis player and father of tennis player Jacquelyn Cary, Jim Cary refers to tennis as “a gentleman’s game.” Tennis requires full cooperation and honesty to oneself and to their opponent at all times, especially during critical points of a match, he said.

“The bigger the point, the more a bad line-call matters,” Ms. Cary said. Playing competitive tennis since the age of 12, Ms. Cary has experienced a fare share of match play. Over the years, she has found two things that she finds most irritating. “If an opponent makes a bad call during a crucial point of a match or bases their calls on the eye for an eye mentality, [purposefully calling a ball out because your opponent called a previous ball out but looked in from your point of view] I get annoyed,” Ms. Cary said.

There are many reasons why people resort to cheating on the tennis court. According to Ms. Cary, some players want to “win at any cost,” even if winning means becoming a liar and being cast as a bad sport.

“But I don’t believe players go out to cheat on that given day,” said Calkins. “The mind is such a powerful thing that players can make their mind believe that a ball is out but in reality, touched part of the line.” 

A GAME OF INCHES

USTA official Turhan Wilbon has been involved in tennis for the last eight years, playing on a collegiate level and now as a coach. He recalls “seeing professional players in a fist fight” as the most shocking event he has experienced on a tennis court.

Competition is what makes sport exciting and enhances the play of both players. “Tennis is a game of inches,” Wilbon said, “An inch here or an inch there is the different between being number one or number 1,101.”

Officiating at professional matches varies from the collegiate level. There can be up to nine line judges watching their line from the first serve of the match to the last ball hit, Wilbon said. Collegiate players have a single roving umpire, who during matches roams from court to court. A player or a coach can ask the roving umpire to come on-court to resolve the situation, Wilbon said.

“Usually players wait for three bad line calls before asking for a referee,” Ms. Cary said. Players need to figure out whether their opponent is intentionally cheating or had made an honest mistake. “You are always judging the opponent’s persona on the court by how they give you the balls, whether they throw their racket or swear,” said Ms. Cary. If the opponent is showing these signs, they are likely cheating on purpose and the player should call a referee.

MEET MAC AND HAWK-EYE

Technology like the Mac-cam or Hawk-eye, are used in professional matches. USTA officials have proposed the idea of implementing instant replay for players to use in case they wish to question a line judge or umpire’s call. However, players and fans alike believe the new technology will slow the pace of the game down.

The accuracy of the technology is not 100 percent and is still being developed and considered for use.

Tennis is a sport between two players. “There is no need for a third party,” Ms. Cary said. When players call their own lines they obtain qualities of honesty, integrity, and good sportsmanship, she said.

“Any call in doubt must be awarded to the opponent,” Mr. Cary said. “In no way, should a player call a ball out if they are avenging a previous call against them.

No matter how athletic a person is or how stressful the competition gets, athletes should follow Mr. Cary’s outlook on sport, “Good sportsmanship should always prevail among professionals and players of all ages and abilities."

If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment...quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there's going to be a life after tennis that's a lot longer than your tennis life.

-Chris Evert