Fans at the Italian Open made their feelings very clear when the umpire made an unusual ‘let’ call in the middle of Matteo Berrettini’s first-round match against Alexei Popyrin. Home favourite Berrettini lost the first set 6-2 but led 15-30 on Popyrin’s serve in the first game of set two.

Berrettini looked in control during the rally and fired a forehand into the corner. But as Popyrin went to return the ball, the vibration dampener on his racket flew off and across the court. Chair umpire Aurelie Tourte called a let just as Popyrin went to hit the ball, and he sent it wide.

It meant they got to replay the point, instead of Popyrin’s shot counting and giving Berrettini a break point. And the 2021 Wimbledon finalist wasn’t happy. Berrettini marched straight to the umpire’s chair as the fans on Centre Court erupted into boos and whistles.

“The dampening device flew during the rally,” Tourte informed the crowd and the players. But Berrettini argued that it didn’t warrant a let call. “I saw it. I need to make the call. The dampening device flew from there to the net, so we play a let,” the umpire explained.

“So what? It’s never let, it’s never let,” Berrettini repeated. Tourte added: “It’s let because it stayed on his side.” Popyrin then joined Berrettini at the net as he grabbed his dampener and joined the conversation.

“It’s not because all the time it flies away, you keep playing. Alexei, you know as well,” the Italian said. But Popyrin explained that the umpire had intervened before he hit his shot. “I would have given you the point if she didn’t say let, but she said let just before I hit my forehand,” he replied.

Tourte continued to explain that she had to call a let because she saw the vibration dampener fly off Popyrin’s racket and across the court. “I saw it. If I don’t see it, I don’t call it, right?” she said. “I just saw it because it flew straight in front of me. Sometimes it goes down the side, I don’t see.”

“But it’s never let when you see this thing. It doesn’t matter because it’s not a let. It’s part of the racket, so it’s never the let,” Berrettini argued. The umpire repeated her point, telling him: “Yes it is. But if I don’t see it, I don’t call it.”

Berrettini again insisted that it wasn’t a let as he returned to the baseline to replay the point. “You can understand the frustration. Feels like that would have given him break point,” commentator Naomi Broady said.

Co-commentator Lee Goodall pointed out that it was unusual for an umpire to notice a vibration dampener flying off a player’s racket, which could be why these incidents weren’t always called as a let. “Unusual set of circumstances when the vibration dampener flies off the player’s racket. I can’t remember a let being called,” he said.

“Yeah, I think it happens relatively often, but normally it pings off to the side of the court. I think the umpire was saying that it landed in the middle of the court on the side of Berrettini,” Broady replied.

And Goodall added: “So normally, a chair umpire – because they’re so small and it happens so quickly – wouldn’t even notice it. But the fact that it landed on the court, and it’s quite a vibrant colour as well. So Aurelie Tourte obviously noticed it quickly, felt she had to step in.”

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