"It's harmless" - Tennis journalist defends Jelena Ostapenko's repeated line call complaints

Sports journalist Jon Wertheim defended Jelena Ostapenko's views on the line call system as the Latvian's Australian Open 2023 campaign came to an end.

Ostapenko suffered a loss against Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, January 24. Both players came in strong, staging two of the biggest upsets in the tournament - Ostapenko over Coco Gauff and Rybakina over top seed Iga Swiatek. The Kazakh broke early, securing a one-set lead before the match was suspended due to rain. She continued the momentum after the match resumed and wrapped it up with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 win.

There has been some buzz surrounding Ostapenko's opinion on the line calling system. Despite there being a replay technology that hardly leaves room for human error, the Latvian has repeatedly questioned it to the amusement of many.

"To be honest I feel like sometimes it makes mistakes," she opined.

Her stance elicited a laugh from fans, journalists and even the chair umpire. While many made light of it, some took a serious view, opining that it was the player's way of buying time.

Responding to one of the posts on social media, Wertheim came to the defense of the World No. 17. He believed that it was the player's way of dealing with stress and as long as the results were determined with the replay technology, it was "harmless" and "amusing for fans".

"It’s a mechanism for dealing with stress. And as long as there is replay technology that gets it right, it’s ultimately harmless (and amusing to fans)," he posted.

Entering the semifinals for the first time at the Australian Open, Rybakina will face either World No. 3 Jessica Pegula or two-time champion Victoria Azarenka for a place in the final.

Jelena Ostapenko's Australian Open 2023 comes to an end

Jelena Ostapenko in action at the 2023 Australian Open

Jelena Ostapenko's Australian Open campaign drew to a close as she exited the singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the tournament.

Duo Ostapenko and Ukrainian Lyudmyla Kichenok made an early exit in the first round of the women's doubles. The Latvian's singles campaign also came to an end after she suffered a loss to 22nd seed Elena Rybakina on Tuesday.

She was scheduled to pair-up and play with Spaniard David Vega Hernández in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles. However, she pulled out of the match, giving Indians Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza a place in the semifinals with a walkover.