"Umpire is not fit to call claycourt matches": Navratilova gives verdict on horrific Zhang Shuai incident in Hungary

Martin Navratilova criticized the line judge at the Hungarian Grand Prix Budapest Open who was involved in the controversy that led to Zhang Shuai's tearful retirement.

The Chinese tennis player was competing in the first round of the Budapest Open in Hungary against local player Amarissa Toth when she had a dispute with the line judge over a ball that was called out but Zhang Shuai believed was in.

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"She made trouble for herself": Sad response from Hungarian qualifier Toth amid Shuai Zhang incident

Despite Zhang indicating the mark on the clay court, the line judge refused to come down and check it, and the opponent erased the mark. In the midst of the situation, the crowd booed Zhang, who experienced a panic attack and subsequently retired from the match, leading to her opponent's celebration and the applause from the audience for the local player's victory.

LorenaPopa 🕵️‍♀️🎾

@popalorena

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I went to check the controversial point between Shuai Zhang and Kiara Toth and I really don't have words for how bad the umpire was for this mark. @WTA it's really time you do something and investigate these, they can't make such big mistakes at this level. This is pure robbery

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Martin Navratilova took to social media to comment on the situation that occurred in the second-round match between Zhang Shuai and Amarissa Toth.

"Pathetic from any angle- umpire is not fit to call clay court matches and Toth is a bad sport," 18-time Grand Slam champion wrote.

Martina Navratilova

@Martina

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Replying to @bgtennisnation

Pathetic from any angle- umpire is not fit to call clay court matches and Toth is a bad sport

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The support from Navratilova adds to several other tennis players who have already come forward to defend Zhang, including Ons Jabeur, Maria Sakkari, Denis Shapovalov, and Ajla Tomljanovic. The 34-year-old tennis player expressed her gratitude for the support she has received from her fans.

"All efforts on practice was wrong, because when you wanted hitting closer to the line, even touched the line still OUT," tweeted Zhang Shuai.

Shuai Zhang

@zhangshuai121

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All efforts on practice was wrong , because when you wanted hitting closer to the line , even touched the line still OUT ….. I love you guys and all girls who supporting me and standing my side

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Zhang has experienced a tough year with 13 consecutive losses, making it a forgettable season. Her last singles victory came in the first round of the Lyon Open in February of this year against Madison Brengle. However, despite the struggles in singles, the 2-time Grand Slam champion in doubles managed to reach the semifinals of the doubles event at Wimbledon alongside her partner Caroline Dolehide.

As the 16th seeds in the doubles draw, they put up a strong performance but were eventually defeated by the third-seeded duo of Elise Mertens and Storm Sanders, who went on to reach the final but were defeated by the team of Barbora Strycova and Su-Wei Hsieh

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