Hilarious scenes unfolded recently at the ATP Santiago. As Alejandro Tabilo became ready to receive a serve from Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera, he had to go to his bag to silence his phone. Before a point commences in tennis, pin-drop silence is expected in the stadium. Any kind of noise can delay the start of the point. While most hindrances of such nature come from the audience, sometimes, they can come from the court themselves, as they did in Chile.

This is not the first time a phone has rung and caused a delay to the start of a point. We saw a similar situation occurring earlier in 2023 with a WTA Star, and we saw its recreation in Chile.

The audience couldn’t hold laughter seeing Alejandro Tabilo running to stop his phone

Tabilo played against Vera and awaited a serve in the second set. But he couldn’t receive it initially as he had to rush to his bag to silence his mobile phone. ATP Tour uploaded a video of the interaction with the comment, “Sorry, Alejandro Tabilo can’t come to the phone right now 📵“. The player and the audience laughed as he ran back to the baseline.

Since silence is expected from everyone in the stands during a match, any defiance of such an expectation is not received kindly. Warnings are passed, and sometimes, a member of the audience is removed from the stands altogether. However, the current interruption caused nothing but laughter. The event unfolded in the opening round of the Chile Open.

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While the audience took it as a comedic incident, it was a violation of the code of conduct. In such a case, the opponent can claim the point if they want. We saw another such scenario unfold with none other than the WTA number 1 earlier in May.

Iga Swiatek interrupts the match for the phone call

In the quarterfinal of the 2023 Italian Open, Iga Swiatek caused an interruption as her phone rang during Elena Rybakina’s serve. The tense atmosphere of the clash quickly turned humorous as Swiatek attempted to locate her phone in her bag. The crowd murmured as the Polish player silenced her phone and went back to the baseline.

While the audience in the stands laughed at the situation, fans who saw the moment unfold on social media chose to lambast the WTA star for the move. It violates the rules and both opponents could have claimed a point. What do you think about both situations?

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