Tennis star Jack Draper charged after match ends in stalemate, teammates stunned

British tennis player Jack Draper was criticized by his tennis colleagues after he secured victory at the Cincinnati Open with “the most controversial match point of all time”.

The 22-year-old won 5-7 6-4 6-4 against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, but the final point of their round of 16 match was highly controversial. With Draper leading 5-4 and 40-30 in the deciding set, he hit what appeared to be a half-volley that flew into the air, hit the top of the net and bounced twice on Auger-Aliassime's side of the court.

After a break, the point was awarded and Draper won the match. However, Auger-Aliassime argued that the ball had actually hit the frame of Draper's racket and been “slammed to the ground” by the British star before bouncing into the air and over the net.

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Television commentators and spectators agreed, and replays also seemed to support the Canadian's claims. However, the referee, who did not have access to replays, disagreed, although Draper repeatedly admitted that even he was unsure whether his shot had been legal.

When spectators called for the point to be replayed, Draper told the referee: “I would replay it. If there was a replay, I would replay it, but I don't know? Maybe I'm looking like an idiot now because people are saying I'm not being fair. But I kept an eye on him (Auger-Aliassime).”

The stalemate lasted four minutes and the referee was even called onto the field to help resolve the matter, although he also insisted that the hit should count as the umpire would not reverse his original decision.

Although Auger-Aliassime had told Draper on his first appearance at the net, “Jack, you know,” he ultimately conceded defeat and told the referee, “If you are 100 percent sure that you are going out here and you have no doubt, not the slightest doubt, that you won with a clean volley, then I will shake his hand and the game is over.”

Draper continued to protest his innocence in his post-game interview, stating: “I was too busy looking at him. I didn't see what happened. I immediately looked at the referee to see if he called a double rebound or not.”

“As a player, I try to focus on what I'm doing. I can't make that decision if I'm not 100%. When the supervisor came in, I said if it had been a double rebound and he had seen it clearly, I would have replayed the point 100%.”

However, Draper has now been hit with accusations from some of his tennis rivals. The outspoken Nick Kyrgios wrote to X: “Mate. Terrible decision but every player knows you know exactly where you hit the ball hahaha ridiculous stuff.”

Meanwhile, world number 11 Stefanos Tsitsipas shared a video of the incident with the caption “Oh my God!” followed by an embarrassed emoji. He later added: “I don't think I've ever seen a shot like that.”