I have one last rules analysis post stemming from the 2023 Championships at Wimbledon. A clip of chair umpire Nico Helwerth catching a ball mid-air during a match between Carlos Alcaraz and Nicolas Jarry went viral. The most common meme I saw was to put Sade’s “Smooth Operator” in the background. (If you missed it, this article from the Independent has a clip of the incident describing the catch as “impressive.”)
I have a different rules-focused perspective. While Helwerth’s intentional act was immaterial to the point, it could have been. Due to the combination of short-angle tactics on grass and the amazing athleticism of the players, balls that are potentially in play will pass within reach of the chair umpire with increasing frequency.
In fact, a similar situation arose during the finals between Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. I captured a quick animated gif that illustrates how chair umpire Fergus Murphy leaned back to avoid contact with the ball that ultimately landed out.
Helworth’s ball catch could have turned into an ugly rules situation. If a player argues that a ball intentionally caught by the chair official might have landed in, the point should be replayed as a hindrance outside the player’s control. That player’s opponent would likely argue that the ball was heading out and feel justifiably aggrieved to have to replay the point. The umpire has to let those balls bounce.
The ensuing debate would place the chair umpire in an interesting position of ruling on questions of fact and tennis law that he did not observe but rather instigated. The supervisor would most certainly be called to the court.
This is another fascinating situation where the ITF Rules of Tennis are almost completely silent. Not many balls are touchable by the chair umpire. Until the advent of Alcaraz, most balls in the chair umpires’ vicinity would most certainly land out anyway. There is a real possibility that this rules situation will arise in the near future. I am here for that.
In the meantime, I am assuming that chair umpires are being cautioned worldwide not to catch a ball in play. You would think it wouldn’t be necessary, but apparently so.
- ITF Rules of Tennis, International Tennis Federation, 2023
A similar situation arises if a ball kid catches the ball before it bounces a first time.
Officials and ball boys and girls are regarded as ‘permanent fixtures’ and if the ball hits them, or they catch it before it bounces, the ball is regarded as ‘out’ as soon as it is touched – simialr to a ball striking an upires chair on the fly.