Foot Fault?!
That “foot fault” should NOT have been called. Yes, I said it.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard, seen or discussed Serena’s tirade during the semi-finals of the US Open. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a quick recap: Serena is down 1 set, down 5-6, serving at 15-30 when she gets called for a foot fault. What happens next, even John “You cannot be serious!” McEnroe says went too far. Serena unleashes a verbal attack at the line judge and eventually gets penalized one point, which happened to be match point. Game, set, match.
What Serena did was completely unnecessary and out of line. That, I’m not disputing. Everyone’s focused on the reaction, or rather, overreaction to the call.
What about that call?
In a perfect world, referees, umpires and judges are supposed to call a game the same way, whether it’s 0-0 or a tie game in a final. Sure, a foot fault is a foot fault and rules are rules, but I don’t feel that call should’ve been made at such a crucial point in the game. Especially since it was as close as it was. If her foot was across the line, I understand, it was blatant. But video footage can neither confirm or dispute if the call was correct, it was that close.
These types of unofficial/official rules can be found in many other sports. In basketball, there’s palming/carrying. Every NBA player does it and it rarely, rarely gets called. Imagine if that was the NBA Finals, and they called palming on Lebron James with 30 seconds left in the game. That ref would’ve never left the stadium alive.
In football, offensive pass interference is a call that you will see once in a blue moon. And when it does get called, it’s because it was so obvious that the ref had no choice. Imagine it’s 4th down, 2:00 minutes left, and Randy Moss gets called for offensive pass interference at the goal line in the Superbowl with his team down 3. You think there was anyway that referee would’ve left the stadium without a security escort?
My point is, there are certain rules in every sport that don’t get enforced, especially in high stake games or matches. A semi-final at the US Open with the defending champion down a set and serving to stay in the match seems to fall into the “high stake game” category doesn’t it?
What do you think? Should that call have been made? What if it was Federer vs. Nadal at the Wimbledon finals, 5th set, match point? Should it be called then? Share your thoughts and opinions here.
Jason, TW
At least Serena didn’t react like this guy:
I think your correct! There is no excuse for the outburst that Serena unleashed upon the line judge, however there is no way she should have called a foot fault at that time in the match. Like you said it would be one thing if she had her foot well across the line but it is so hard to tell with a zoom view. Big mistake from the line judge to call that and big mistake by Serena to say what she said.
“A foot fault is a foot fault.”
I see where you’re coming from, Jason, but I disagree, for a number of reasons.
First off, the line judges are given instructions on how to officiate at matches. By your argument, they should be told, “Listen…call the foot faults, but if you’re at a crucial point in a match, and it’s not blatant, then hey–feel free not to call it.” Really? Is that what we want line judges to be doing….watching the lines AND trying to figure out if they’re at a crucial enough stage of a match to call something?
Second, even if we were to accept your premise, it’s asking a lot of a line judge to make a split-second decision to ignore the foot fault she just saw (I presume the line judge in this case did think she saw a foot fault). She’d have to see the fault, and almost instantaneously decide not to call it, against her better judgement, because of course the instinct as a line judge is to call the infraction if you see one.
Third, your analogies to other sports are flawed. Palming in basketball and offensive pass interference in football are judgement calls. There are of course guidelines to making the calls, but in the end the ref has to decide if what he sees is in fact a violation (otherwise, theoretically, you could get a robot to make the calls rather than a ref.) However, in tennis, a line infraction is a line infraction, period. There’s no judgement needed; either the foot is on the line, or it isn’t.
Fourth, even if we accept your analogies, I dispute their accuracy. Yes, I do think offensive pass interference could be called at a critical juncture of an important football game. As for palming…well, we all know the NBA is known for being an “entertainment league”. How many steps are players consistently allowed when dunking, even though the technical limit is one step?
Here’s an analogy for you. What about Game 7, Stanley Cup Finals, a 2-on-1 with ten seconds left to tie the game? Are you saying you think the linesman will put his whistle away and ignore the offsides that occurs? No WAY. A line call is a line call. No linesman would ever think “Hey, this is a crucial point of the game, maybe I’ll just let this one slide.” If they did, there’d be an uproar.
Of foot faults, you said they’d be called at any point, first point, or match point, “in a perfect world.” Well, that alone implies that calling foot faults consistently is a desirable outcome; otherwise, you would’ve said “in a crummy world.” Line judges need to call them as they see them–period.
I agree with Rafael. A foot fault is a foot fault. What’s funny is that people assume the following about the line judge:
1. She knew that no clear evidence of the footfault would be shown so she could knowingly make a bad call.
2. It’s hard to call a foot fault even though Serena was wearing blake Nike Air Max
People also assumed Serena thinks she didn’t foot fault. That is not true. She never disputed that she didn’t foot fault. In fact, if you watch her reactions, she knew she got caught.
So it’s ok to “cheat” a little in critical points? What’s America about? Cheating a little in critical points? Your article is about as un-American as it gets.
Your argument ‘with the defending champion down a set and serving to stay in the match’ shows your attitude towards the situation. Does it mean that if the score was opposite and Cleisters was serving for the match the foot fault would be OK because she is up against the champion? Linesmen are chosen for their ability to be precise and unbiased. If she failed to call the fault then she is not supposed to be there. Credit should be given to the woman for having the guts to call the fault even against another American.
At that point of the match, no I would not have called it unless it was very, very, obvious. While the line person has to do their job, they should be aware of the magnitude and timing and how their call can affect the game and to be mindful not to be a part of it.
How many foot faults are called are the top 10 players in tennis at the US Open. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a foot fault called on of these players in a grand slam event. It’s as rare as a basketball player double dribbling the ball. A very tennis 101 type of event. Considering how much money Serena lost when the line judge called the point instead of just letting her play it out, I can understand losing it a little bit. IN FACT, I’m sure all of us have lost our cool at one point when the pressure was really up against us. This is not regular behavior for Serena so I would forgive, forget, & move on.
Yes, it should have been called because that is the rule. The trouble in this case is that most people perceive the call to be wrong. However, what if Serena has stepped into the court by 6 inches? Would you still not call the foot fault because of the crucial juncture of the match? You cannot convert a definite rule into something subjective.
You cannot allow leeway in rule enforcement by letting the officials make a call depending on the juncture of a match. Would you do the same for close line calls? There is no difference between calling a footfault and calling a baseline shot “out” or “in” – because they are both clear and well-defined rules. Stepping in even a couple of inches on the serve, gives a huge advantage to the server and can result in an ace instead of a first serve that was just a little out.
Still waiting for a real apology from Serena, although I may be asking for a lot.
Here’s another idea for you all. What if the line judge HADN’T called the foot fault, even though she saw it happen…..and CBS then showed a replay showing the foot fault? How much trouble do you think she’d get into with her superintendent officials, for not calling it? Plenty.
Then, too, I’m sure thousands of people would be screaming that she should’ve called the foot fault, that Clijsters got robbed because the line judge didn’t call what should’ve been a foot fault.
Bottom line–to avoid these kinds of awkward situations, the best policy is to call it if you see it. Always go with the truth, rather than trying to make up some rationale around which to build a lie.