"Jelena Ostapenko was right when she said we need line judges back" - Fans angry at Hawk-Eye error during Daria Kasatkina's Miami Open 3R defeat

Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko
Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko

Daria Kasatkina was visibly dismayed by a faulty Electronic Line call during her third-round defeat at the hands of Sorana Cirstea at the 2024 Miami Open.

Daria Kasatkina was seeded No. 10 at the 2024 Miami Open and faced Sorana Cristea in the third round on March 24. She received a first-round bye and bettered Claire Liu in the second round after the American had to retire midway through the match.

Sorana Cirstea, the No. 19 seed, defeated Kasatkina in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 to seal her berth in the fourth round. The match had some controversy, as during the first set, an error by the Electronic Line Calling system awarded Cirstea an ace. Kasatkina was surprised that the serve was not out despite it landing out.

The close-call camera also showed that the serve was out, which left Kasatkina and the chair umpire befuddled about what had happened. Tennis fans were unhappy with the faulty line calling and advocated for human line judges to be used so that player challenges could come into play in such situations.

Others wondered why the chair umpire did not overturn the erroneous call. They also mentioned Jelena Ostapenko, who had once called on more lines people to be used on the WTA Tour. A fan also recalled a contentious line call during Iga Swiatek's win over Linda Noskova at the 2024 Miami Open.

"And what does the @WTA & @MiamiOpen have to say for themselves? Where is the apology, the statement of action, the reparation/remediation plan? @DKasatkina & the rest of the tour deserve better than simply ignoring a blatant failure of technology.. The chair ump needed to act!" a fan wrote.
"Maybe Ostapenko was right when she said we need line judges back!" another fan stated.
"That’s very unsettling to see. The umpire should have overruled the auto call and it should have been a second serve. Why is it so hard for tennis to be fair," a fan tweeted.
"There was one ball from Noskova last night that I could swear was at lests 20-30 cm out. Iga also noticed it and expected it to be called out. It surprised her that it wasn't," a fan wrote.

Here are more fan reactions to the faulty Electric Line Calling at the 2024 Miami Open:


Daria Kasatkina has reached two finals on 2024 WTA Tour

Daria Kasatkina
Daria Kasatkina

Notwithstanding her early exit at the 2024 Miami Open, Daria Kasatkina has performed well on the WTA Tour so far this year. The Russian began her 2024 season with a quarterfinal finish at Brisbane International and backed it up by reaching the final of the Adelaide International.

Kasatkina battered Claire Liu, Anna Kalinskaya, Laura Siegemun (via walkover), and Jessica Pegula (via walkover) before losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the title contest. She was in good form heading into the Australian Open but lost in the second round.

The 26-year-old's next big performance came at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she reached her second final of the year but lost the match to Elena Rybakina. Kasatkina competed at Indian Wells before coming to Miami and reached the fourth round.

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