Australian Open: ‘F****** ridiculous’ – Alison Riske-Amritraj hits out at ‘poor sportsmanship and cheating’

Alison Riske-Amritraj has hit out at what she called “poor sportsmanship and cheating” in tennis after a dramatic incident in her doubles match on Friday.

Riske-Amritraj struck the ball into the body of her opponent before quickly apologising.

Match chair umpire Nico Helwerth awarded the point to Alexandra Panova and Natela Dzalamidze as he believed Riske-Amritraj apologised during the point. Talking in the middle of points is not allowed.

“Ladies and gentlemen, due to the hindrance Ms Riske-Amritraj has created, the point goes to Dzalamidze/Panova,” said Helwerth.

“That’s the rule,” he added. “She said ‘sorry’ while the ball is in play. I know she doesn’t do it on purpose, but that’s not the point.”

Riske-Armitraj and her partner Linda Fruhvitova were furious with his decision. Riske-Armitraj and Fruhvitova believed the American apologised after the point was over.

Fruhvitova made a case to Helwerth that Riske-Amritaj apologised after the ball hit her opponent’s body and not during the point.

Riske-Amritraj requested for the match supervisor to come on before she then berated the official.

“What the hell is he doing up there then? That’s f****** ridiculous,” said Riske-Amritraj.

“No, no, that’s ridiculous. Is he sleeping? Dude. I wouldn’t say sorry [before the point is complete].

“It hit her so I said sorry. So it’s my point.”

The supervisor responded: “He’s seen it differently and it’s the umpire’s job to see it.”

Riske-Amritaj then sarcastically replied: “That makes no sense. Dude. Oh, the way you see it? The way you see it? I’m sure you see it that way.

“That’s ridiculous. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Pay attention. Dude, that’s tennis 101.”

On Saturday, Riske-Amritraj has revealed on social media that the umpire has apologised to her, but maintains her belief that her opponent was in the wrong.

“She [her opponent] should have called it on herself and the umpire apologised for his incorrect ruling after, which I accepted,” Riske-Amritraj said.

“Poor sportsmanship and cheating happens all the time, especially at the junior level. Parents/players spend too much time, money and mental energy for that experience.

“As you can tell, I am extremely passionate about helping tennis’ future here. If you’re working on a compelling piece of line calling or VAR tech and need help funding/scaling, please DM me.”

Riske-Amritraj and Fruhvitova lost the second set but fought back to win the match 7-6 4-6 5-7.

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