Katie Boulter admitted that an unusual interruption affected her during a 6-2, 7-6 (2) victory over Viktorija Golubic in the last 32 of the Hong Kong Open on Monday.
The British No 1 was leading 6-2, 5-2 when a sound resembling a Windows 10 error effect played during a point at deuce. Boulter appeared distracted and sent a backhand into the tramlines, then asked the umpire what had happened.
The umpire explained that the noise appeared to have come from outside the court and was not considered disruptive. As a result, the point was not replayed. Boulter questioned the decision and argued that the sound may have come from the court’s own audio system.
“So you heard something then?” Boulter asked. The umpire replied that she had heard something outside the court but did not know its source. Boulter then asked whether the point would be replayed if the sound happened again.
The umpire said that a let could be called if the noise came from the court, but that nothing could be done if it originated elsewhere. Boulter responded: “So if it happens again, we just keep playing? No problem.”
The incident appeared to unsettle Boulter, who was broken twice as Golubic fought to take the second set to a tiebreak. The British player recovered her composure, however, and won the tiebreak 7-2 to complete the victory.
After the match, Boulter said the incident and the decision had got “under my skin”. The former Hong Kong Open finalist described it as a lesson learned and said fatigue at the end of the season had made it harder to dismiss the disruption.
“I feel like I should have closed it out but a couple of things happened,” Boulter said in her on-court interview. “It seemed to get to me but lesson learned, I managed to get over the line.”
Boulter will face Claire Liu in the last 16.
Sources: Tennis365.