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The 2023 Super Bowl ending did not sit well with those following the big game, including many in the tennis world. The game ended with a controversial penalty call as Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 to lift the title on Sunday.
Six-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs and Andre Agassi's former coach/former Top-5 ATP player Brad Gilbert were among the tennis stars who expressed their shock with the referee's call.
The incident occurred with a few moments left in the game and both teams still in contention to win. As Chiefs superstar Mahomes threw the ball beyond JuJu Smith-Schuster's reach, it seemed as if the Chiefs had forced a field goal. However, the referee gave a holding penalty against Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, thus awarding the Chiefs a first down. Mahomes and co. thus ran out the clock as Harrison Butker scored the winning field goal and the Eagles suffered a last-gasp heartbreak.
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Many fans and followers of the big game on Sunday believed the holding call was highly questionable, with Gilbert and Stubbs calling it a "terrible call" and "one of the worst" they have seen.
"I’m sorry but that call was the worst call i have seen a long time! I have no dog in this fight, but that was pathetic!" Stubbs wrote on Twitter.
"Sorry terrible call, he totally bobbled that catch and I have zero vested interest," Gilbert expressed.
For tennis fans who may be uninitiated with what went down in the NFL game, leading tennis journalist Jon Wertheim highlighted that the late call was the equivalent of a five-set Grand Slam tennis final ending with foot faults and double faults.
"This feels like ending a five-set instaclassic Major final with two foot-faults and a double-fault," Wertheim tweeted.
Meanwhile, former player-turned-commentator Mark Petchey opined that the controversial call on the night proved former F1 race director Michael Masi right about his views on F1 rules.
"Tonight’s Super Bowl ending showed why Michael Masi was right to interpret the rules the way he did in F1. Sport needs big finishes when the rule infraction is so small," Petchey wrote.
Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki, and others in tennis world thrilled by Rihanna's live performance during Super Bowl 2023
Along with the game itself, there was a lot of excitement among many in the tennis world about superstar Rihanna's live performance during the halftime show of the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Coco Gauff, Caroline Wozniacki, Naomi Osaka, and Alison Riske-Amritraj were among those who expressed their admiration for Rihanna.
"Go Rihanna! What a way to come back," Caroline Wozniacki wrote on Instagram.
Osaka was in attendance at the State Farm Stadium for Sunday's big event, suggesting that she was only there for Rihanna. The Japanese star later opined that the Barbadian singer did not disappoint at all in what was her first live performance in years.
