(Video) “What an absolute disgrace” – Netizens slam umpire as he awards the point to Ben Shelton after major mistake during Swiss Indoors

The umpire thought Ben Shelton's return hit Tomas Martin Etcheverry's leg before hitting the ground and awarded the point to the American.


(Video) “What an absolute disgrace” – Netizens slam umpire as he awards the point to Ben Shelton after major mistake during Swiss Indoors

Umpire made a huge mistake during Ben Shelton vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry first round match at Swiss Indoors (Images via X)

A major umpiring blunder perhaps caused Tomas Martin Etcheverry‘s match against Ben Shelton at the Swiss Indoors. On October 22, the sixth seed met the Argentine in the first round and won the match 6-3, 6-4.

During the first set, when Shelton was leading 3-2 and was 30-15 in the sixth game, a return from him hit the ground before Etcheverry could play the shot. The chair umpire thought the ball hit Etcheverry’s leg before hitting the ground and awarded the point to the American.

YouTube video

Replays, however, showed that the ball bounced outside the court before hitting Etcheverry’s leg. The points would have been 30-30 had the umpire made the right decision. 

FS Video

Watch the video of the incident here:

Shelton will face the winner between Stan Wawrinka and Adrian Mannarino. He has never faced the three-time Grand Slam champion in his career. The 22-year-old, however, met Mannarino twice but lost both matches.

They locked horns with each other for the first time in the 2023 Miami Open Round of 64, which the Frenchman won in three sets. Their last encounter was in the Round of 32 of the Australian Open, where the veteran emerged as the winner in five sets. 

Fans slam umpire for his mistake during Ben Shelton versus Tomas Martin Etcheverry match 

As soon as the video of the incident surfaced on social media, netizens started criticizing the umpire and questioned why the tournament didn’t have an instant video replay. A few fans observed that the umpires are making such errors because of the electronic line calling, as they are not paying attention to them like they used to. Some fans believe umpires’ mistakes are one of the reasons behind the decline of tennis.

Ben Shelton US Open
Ben Shelton (Via X)

But some are ready to forgive the umpire as they feel the umpire at the end of the day is a human being and will make mistakes. They also felt Shelton knew that the ball went outside the line before hitting Etcheverry’s legs, but he did not accept it. 

Check out their reactions here:

Shelton is on his quest for his third ATP title and his second of the season. This year, Shelton won the ATP Houston back in April with a three-set win over compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the final. Before the Swiss Indoors, Shelton participated in the Shanghai Masters where he lost to World No.1 and eventual winner Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the fourth round.