In a doubles match, a ball was called out before it landed. The caller’s partner realized that the ball was actually in and kept on playing, making a successful shot in. The opponents missed the following shot, and then claimed the out call threw them off. Whose point is it?
— José Rochon, Toronto, ON, Canada
As soon as the out call was made and reversed, the opposing team should have stopped playing and claimed the point under The Code, Item 12, which states that on reversed calls, “The point goes to the opponent and is not replayed.” But since the teams kept on playing, you can either play a let or give the point to the team that hit the last good shot, since everyone kept playing as if the ball was good.
Except where noted, answers are based on the ITF Rules of Tennis and USTA's The Code.
Got a question? Email it to: courtofappeals@tennis.com