Zverev faces warning for taking photo of disputed ball mark in Madrid

In Spain, at the Madrid Open tennis tournament, top-seeded Alexander Zverev was issued a warning by the umpire during his match against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. This incident occurred during the third round of the tournament on a Sunday, where Zverev was disputing a call made by the electronic line-calling system. The match score was 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(0) in Zverev's favor. After claiming there was a malfunction with the electronic system when a backhand from Davidovich Fokina was called in, Zverev took out his phone and took a photo of the ball mark. The action was deemed unsportsmanlike by the umpire, leading to the warning. This judgment came after Zverev unsuccessfully protested the call to umpire Mohamed Lahyani, believing the ball had landed out instead of in. Following his victory, Zverev shared the photo of the mark on his Instagram Story, accompanied by a caption questioning the call, which he found interesting given the visibility of the mark being outside the line. His post sparked discussions around the accuracy of electronic line-calling systems versus traditional line judging. Zverev's situation highlights a growing controversy in tennis, especially as electronic systems become more prevalent while traditional line judges are being removed from more tournaments. The ATP and WTA have begun to implement these changes, although the French Open is set to retain line judges for the time being. This incident with Zverev follows a similar warning given to Aryna Sabalenka for taking a photograph of a disputed call just a week prior.