Elena Rybakina has joined the list of tennis stars questioning the accuracy of electronic line calling (ELC) on clay courts. At the Madrid Open, Rybakina disputed a call during her match with Zheng Qinwen, arguing that the ball mark clearly showed the serve was out.
Rybakina’s Frustration with the System
During her match, Rybakina gestured to the ball mark after a Zheng Qinwen serve, asserting it was obviously out. “This is not a joke. The system is wrong. This is not a joke. It is not touching. It is absolutely wrong,” Rybakina told the chair umpire before winning in three sets.
“It’s kind of a stolen point. I understand it was her serve and she was serving really well, but it’s really frustrating,” Rybakina told reporters after the match.
Growing Trend of Disputed Calls
Rybakina’s experience is part of a growing trend in tennis, where players are increasingly questioning ELC on clay courts. Players are finding that the ELC system is disagreeing with what they can see.
One year prior, Alex Eala questioned a call after her defeat to Iga Świątek at the 2025 Madrid Open. Eala noted that a ball mark showed Świątek’s serve to be out, but the ELC system determined it to be in. “I mean, the mark is the physical, it’s the physical proof,” Eala said.
Other Players Voice Concerns
Other players have also taken matters into their own hands. Alexander Zverev used his phone to photograph a trace after a shot he believed to be out from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was ruled in at the Madrid Open. Aryna Sabalenka took a photo to document a shot she believed was in but had been ruled out at an event in Stuttgart, Germany.
Zverev insisted there was a “defect in the system”. He said, “I will talk to the supervisors, I will talk to the ATP because, as I said, this is not normal. For a mistake to happen like this, yes, one or two millimeters I understand, but four, five centimeters is not normal.”
The Rise of Electronic Line Calling
As of 2026, Hawk-Eye ELC is used at three of the four Grand Slams and across all men’s and women’s tour events above 250 level, including the Madrid Open. The Australian Open replaced line judges with the system in 2021, as did the U.S. Open in 2022. Wimbledon followed suit last year.
Tennis now faces the question of which knowledge system to believe when the physical evidence of a ball mark contradicts the electronic system.