Stefanos Tsitsipas, the upcoming tennis sensation from Greece has turned quite a few heads by alleging that Chair Umpires have preferential behavior towards senior players such as Roger Federer and the Bryan Brothers.
Tsitsipas put these charges while playing against the Bryan Brothers in the double final. Umpire Wesley Koolhof was overseeing the match, when Tsitsipas accused him and others of granting special privileges for opponents such as the Bryan brothers and Roger.
He later elaborated on twitter, when followers asked him about his on-court behavior. He used the social media handle to mention that while he admired Federer and other stars like Djokovic and Nadal, he couldn’t help but point out the preferential treatment that they received.
“I think players that have been doing really well over the years, players that are generally much respected in the tennis world have privileges when it comes to certain rules and umpire decisions,” wrote the world number 10.
“I felt this couple of times when playing these guys and I think it’s a bit unfair. Roger Federer is always going to be my favorite player no matter what. I don’t want to drag him into this. It’s not his fault or intention, it’s the umpires that are trying to protect them more than they are supposed to. Nothing more than that.”
Federer strongly disagreed with these charges and mentioned that umpires do interact different with some of the top players, but there is no foul play like preferential treatment involved here.
“It’s a tough one but what I do feel sometimes is that on the outside courts, more than just preferential treatment to the top guys, they are tougher on the rules,” Federer said to AFP.
“You do something – bang, warning. It’s like there is no messing about. But with the umpires with the top guys on the main courts, I think the umpires know the top guys, they know their problems, they know how they behave and how they will react, so they know what acting stupid or silly means and what normal is. So because we know each other very well, I think it’s easier for an umpire to handle a top player who they know over an up-and-coming guy like Tsitsipas or a young guy and that sometimes gets lost in translation and maybe bad mistakes can happen. But I don’t see preferential treatment, there shouldn’t be,” Federer said.
Viewers on the internet have reacted strongly to these claims by Tsitsipas and believe that he needs to be more careful with how he speaks about some of the seniors. One of the commenters on YouTube mentioned that Tsitsipas is an exciting young talent, and he should make sure that he respects the pros of the game. The world number 10 has indeed had a good last year, and there are high hopes associated with his meteoric growth in the sport. The future is indeed bright for him.
