Tennis fans have expressed frustration over former player Mark Petchey’s remarks regarding a potential shift to complete electronic line-calling in the sport.
Petchey, known for his commentary on top channels, shared his views following the Dubai Open semifinals, where No. 5 Andrey Rublev was defaulted for swearing at a line judge during his match against Alexander Bublik.
In response to the incident, Petchey took to social media, stating, “For all those that want all electronic line calling, just remember that undiluted passion and drama write headlines.
There are news channels all over the world talking about Dubai that wouldn’t be today if we had all electronic line calling. Nobody died also.” His comments triggered a wave of discontent among fans on various social media platforms.
One fan criticized Petchey’s stance by suggesting a hypothetical scenario involving another player at a different tournament: “Okay cool. So at Acapulco, Casper Ruud should kick a ballboy in the shins to get some publicity for this underreported sport.
As long as the ballboy doesn’t die. Am I doing this right?” Another fan argued against Petchey’s perspective, emphasizing the importance of maintaining integrity in the sport: “I disagree Mark. That’s the equivalent of clickbait journalism. Not good or healthy for the sport generally or anyone playing or officiating.”
