What happened between Taylor Fritz and chair umpire during controversial disputed line call at Cincinnati Open? All you need to know

Taylor Fritz was involved in a heated confrontation with chair umpire Greg Allensworth during his first-round clash at the 2024 Cincinnati Open on Tuesday, August 13. The American was incensed by a controversial line call that went against him at a crucial moment in the clash.

Taking on compatriot Brandon Nakashima, Fritz fell behind in the contest after losing the opening set. During the second set, with the World No. 12 leading 3-2, a Haweye error during a rally on Nakashima's serve (at 30-30) resulted in no call, even though the 23-year-old's forehand had landed long. Fritz appeared taken aback by the absence of a call but continued playing.

Although the video replay confirmed that the ball was out, chair umpire Greg Allensworth stopped play and called for the point to be replayed instead of awarding the point to Fritz, insisting that the Hawkeye call had arrived too late.

"They didn’t stop it in time. We played 6-7 more shots," Allensworth said.

As Taylor Fritz complained about the decision, the chair umpire contended that if the American had stopped play immediately, the point would've been reviewed.

However, the 26-year-old didn't take kindly to Allensworth's assertion, pointing out that it wasn't his responsibility to stop play when Hawkeye was available.

"Okay no wait, no no no no. Don't tell me that I need to stop the point when we have electronic line calling," Taylor Fritz argued.

"I know but that's how it works. You could have stopped the point and we could have looked at it then," the umpire contended.

"I mean yeah if we didn't have electronic line calling, I stop. The ball was so far out," Fritz responded.

The American also questioned why the umpire hadn't stepped in to stop play after noticing that the shot had evidently gone long.

"Yeah but why don't you stop it? You're in the chair. You saw that ball, it was like a foot out," the American questioned.

As the umpire refused to budge, his decision was met with widespread criticism from the tennis community, players and fans alike. Daniil Medvedev denounced the umpire's "ridiculous decision," questioning the justification for not awarding the point to Taylor Fritz.

"Ridiculous decision.. ball is out, point is over, point to Fritz. How was this not the outcome?" Medvedev commented on Instagram.

Denis Shapovalov, who was recently handed a controversial default from the Citi Open, also expressed his surprise at the umpire's remarks.

"'If you would have stopped the point.' I can’t anymore," Shapovalov wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Andy Roddick condemned the decision as "allergic to common sense," with additional backlash coming from Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alex Michelsen and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.

Fans also expressed their outrage, accusing the umpire of unfairly "blaming" Fritz for not stopping play and calling for him to be "fired."

"What the hell… so the ump is blaming Taylor for .. him not doing his job. Fire this guy immediately," one fan commented.

"I've seen a lot of things in tennis but this is one of the most ridiculous EVER. Tough to describe how bad the situation was and the umpire's answer to Fritz was probably the worst of the entire thing. Wow," another fan said.

"What IS the Point of the Chair Person If They CAN'T CALL THE BALL OUT, at the Time?!," a fan questioned.

Taylor Fritz ridicules chair umpire's "insane call" after Cincinnati Open 1R loss

Taylor Fritz (Source: Getty)

Although Taylor Fritz managed to put his dispute with the chair umpire behind him to clinch the second set, he eventually failed to get past Brandon Nakashima, as the 23-year-old claimed an impressive 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory.

Following his loss, the World No. 12 took to social media and ridiculed the umpire Greg Allensworth for holding him responsible for stopping the point when electronic line calling was available.

"Imagine telling me I needed to stop the point when we have literal Hawkeye electronic line calling 😂," Taylor Fritz posted on X.

Despite his frustration, Taylor Fritz emphasized that his intention wasn't to make excuses for his loss but simply to highlight the "insane call."

"Side note- I don’t think this changes anything in the match considering I won the point replay so don’t take this as an excuse… just pointing out an insane call," he commented further.

Fritz will compete at the US Open next, with the aim of ending American men's 21-year title drought at their home Slam.