A pretty shocking umpiring blunder just happened at the 2025 Athens Open that’s got tennis fans scratching their heads. Miomir Kecmanovic somehow got awarded a point even though his shot was clearly wide – and it wasn’t even close.
Here’s the thing that makes this even more baffling.
The Athens Open uses electronic line-calling, not human line judges. You know, that automated system that’s supposed to catch every ball that’s out? Well, it completely failed here.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miomir Kecmanovic | 26 | 920 | 13 - 15 |
Most ATP and WTA tournaments have switched to this electronic system by now. Only some smaller 250-level events still rely on line judges, but Athens isn’t one of them.
The drama unfolded during Kecmanovic’s match against Kamil Majchrzak. The Polish player was holding a break point at 5-6, 40-30 in the first set – basically one point away from forcing a tiebreak.
Kecmanovic hit a backhand return that sailed wide. Like, really wide.
Majchrzak started celebrating, thinking he’d won the game to make it 6-6. Makes sense, right? The ball was obviously out.
But here’s where things got weird. The automated system never made a sound. No "out" call, nothing.
That left it up to the chair umpire to step in and make the obvious call. The ball had landed considerably out – this should’ve been a no-brainer.
Instead, after the cameras stopped rolling, the umpire gave the point to Kecmanovic.
It’s pretty hard to believe an umpire could miss a ball that was that far out. This was a significant mistake, no question about it.
Kecmanovic could’ve stepped up here too. He could’ve conceded the point or at least asked for confirmation. Instead, the Serbian just accepted the gift and moved on.
The good news? Majchrzak didn’t let it rattle him.
He broke serve anyway to force that 6-6 tie. Kecmanovic ended up winning the match 7-6, 7-6 after a pretty intense battle, but at least the blown call didn’t decide the outcome.
This story probably won’t make huge headlines since Majchrzak didn’t throw a fit and got his break anyway. But it’s a good reminder that even the fancy electronic systems aren’t perfect.
The French Open actually caused some controversy recently by announcing they’re sticking with human line judges in 2026 instead of going electronic. Stories like this one might make you wonder if they’re onto something.
Umpires are having a rough few weeks
You’d think electronic line-calling would make umpires’ lives easier, but players are still finding plenty to argue about.
Carlos Alcaraz had a pretty heated exchange with Irish umpire Fergus Murphy during the 2025 Japan Open final against Taylor Fritz. The Spanish star got slapped with a time violation for going over the 25-second limit.
Alcaraz was not happy about it. He kept telling Murphy that he’d never played tennis and didn’t understand what players go through. Pretty intense stuff, though Alcaraz still won the final.
Daniil Medvedev – who’s never been shy about speaking his mind – lost it at the 2025 China Open over another time violation.
He was struggling physically against Learner Tien, which made the timing of the violation feel pretty harsh. Medvedev ended up retiring in the third set, clearly frustrated with the whole situation.
Even with all the technology improvements, time violations seem to be the biggest source of tension between players and umpires these days. The electronic system might catch the line calls, but it can’t help with everything else that happens on court.
