Tamara Korpatsch has defended her decision to skip the customary handshake with Wang Xinyu after defeating the 32nd seed in a tense second-round match at the French Open. The German player later expressed her frustration at being portrayed as an unfair player over a contentious line call.
Match Tensions Boil Over
Tensions escalated late in the opening set of Korpatsch's 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory. Wang struck a shot she believed had landed inside the baseline, but Korpatsch pointed to a ball mark outside the court. The disagreement intensified when Wang crossed the net to inspect the mark on Korpatsch's side, drawing a code violation from chair umpire Aurelie Tourte for unsportsmanlike conduct. The incident left lingering tension throughout the match.
Korpatsch explained her perspective: "It was a really long ball from her, and I saw it out. I don't know if the line umpire called it out or not, but there were two ball marks, actually. One was an old one and the other one was the new one. Both of them were out, so it doesn't matter. I didn't know which one was the right one but the chair umpire came down and showed the mark, and it was out."
She added that television replays confirmed the ball was out by eight millimetres. "She came on my side, because she didn't believe it... At the end, we didn't have a handshake because she told me she's not okay with that, with the ball marks. I can't say I'll gift her the point. I'm a bit surprised, because we have a good relationship, we're not enemies. I didn't offer her my hand because that's not fair for me. She was unfair to come on my side, and I'm not an unfair player."
Clay Court Controversies
Unlike the other three Grand Slams, the French Open does not rely on electronic line calling. Officials can inspect traces left by the ball on clay to help make decisions, though human error remains possible. Korpatsch reiterated her frustration at the perception of the incident and defended her conduct.
"I think she said something like she thought I'm not a fair player or something like that, but I don't know how. We have one of the best chair umpires on the court, and I don't know how to cheat, honestly," Korpatsch added. "There are cameras on court and they can check everything. For me, it would be embarrassing to cheat like that. I'm honest, that when I was running, I thought the ball is out, and was like 'okay, which one is it?' I didn't know which mark. For that, we have the umpire."
Through to the Roland Garros third round for the first time, Korpatsch will face seventh seed Elina Svitolina next on Friday.
