A costly error by an official at the 2024 Shanghai Masters tournament left several fans scratching their heads, with renown coach Brad Gilbert left furious upon viewing the incident.
Gilbert, who recently parted ways with WTA star Coco Gauff, was one of thousands who saw the viral clip circulating on social media. The American coach is known for lashing out at tournament umpires following obvious officiating errors, and the latest incident did not go unnoticed.
Scoreboard error played a vital role in outcome of match
During the second round encounter between three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka and Italian youngster Flavio Cobolli, the pair split the first two sets with each player taking one via a tiebreak. However, the final set saw chair umpire Carlos Bernardes forget to update the scoreboard after Wawrinka had a 15-0 lead on his serve. Cobolli won the next point, but Bernardes made a crucial error, updating the score to 0-30 in favor of the Italian. Neither player nor tournament officials alerted Bernardes to his error. Cobolli would go on to break Wawrinka's serve, winning the game and subsequently the match.
Following the completion of the match, several fans were left flabbergasted by the officiating as the clip made rounds on social media. Upon seeing the clip, Gilbert expressed his disbelief at the poor officiating.
"How does that basic mistake happen and was not corrected? Did not see the match. If this happened, inexcusable," wrote the coach on Twitter. "I am dumbfounded."