Marta Kostyuk clashed with the chair umpire over poor officiating at a crucial juncture in her first-round match in Stuttgart.
Kostyuk was embroiled in a marathon opener at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix against former champion Laura Siegemund. The Ukrainian was playing her first match in precisely a month because of an injury setback.
The clash in Stuttgart was on a knife edge. After Kostyuk deservedly took the first set 6-3, a resurgent Siegemund did not throw in the towel and recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break.
The German veteran dominated the ensuing breaker, winning it 7-4. Momentum was firmly with the home player, who arrived at this WTA 500 event on the back of a steering Germany to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals with victory over Brazil in Sao Paulo last week.
Siegmund fashioned a break point chance in the first game of the third set. Kostyuk did exceptionally well in finishing a low bouncing return from her opponent, who clipped the net cord. But after Siegmeund failed to retrieve the shot, the line umpire called it out.
Kostyuk challenged it, and the chair umpire was summoned to check the mark. On a second look, it was judged to be good. However, Siegemund claimed that she hit the ball, which the umpire couldn't remember.
The umpire initially gave Kostyuk the point but changed her mind following Siegemund's protest. Then, it was the 21-year-old's turn to dispute the umpire's verdict, who requested that the point be replayed, much to Kostyuk's anger.
Kostyuk was broken once the point was replayed, but it did not heavily impact the final score because she was able to break back straight away. Both players struggled on serve, but it was the consistent Ukrainian who emerged with the win after three hours and 10 minutes.