Opinion: Strange that US Open let calls are done by umpires

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center (Darylsam, Wikimedia Commons)

One of the biggest changes in professional tennis within the past couple of years is the fact that there are automatic line calls. For almost a century and a half we have line judges in tennis, and at many tournaments across the world, the judges have been replaced by the Hawk-Eye electronic line calling system.

However, one must realize there is one part of the 2025 United States Open where a ruling is still made by the umpire. It is when a let is called. According to Evan Bell of heavy.com, former tennis legend Jim Courier stated earlier in the grand slam tournament that “some players aren’t even aware that let calls are made manually by chair umpires now.”

The bottom line is this whole situation is quite bizarre. There are electronic devices throughout the entire court but not on top of the net to help the umpires make the determination if a tennis ball clearly went over the net or not on a serve.

One player who has been outspoken against the chair umpire calling lets has been Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 2025 Australian Open finalist. The world number three has stated it is “ridiculous” that let calls are being called by umpires rather than by available technology according to Scott Spits of The Age.

It is also fair to ask why are there lets to begin with? Do lets still need to be in the game at all? In recent years. the ATP Next Gen event has not used lets at all, and that decision has received high praise.