Senior Tournament Delayed 23 Minutes After Four Players Refuse To Call Score Loudly Enough
A women's doubles quarterfinal at the Southwest Senior Invitational was delayed 23 minutes Saturday after four players repeatedly failed to announce the score at a volume officials described as functionally audible.
PHOENIX — Tournament operations at the Southwest Senior Invitational experienced a 23-minute delay Saturday morning after four players participating in a women’s doubles quarterfinal repeatedly failed to announce the score at a volume described by officials as “functionally audible.”
The match, involving competitors between the ages of 63 and 71, stalled after multiple disagreements emerged regarding whether the score had been called at all.
Witnesses confirmed at least two players continued serving while holding entirely different understandings of the game state.
“This did not occur in tennis,” Hollister noted in her tournament dispatch.
Officials attempted to restore order by introducing paper scorecards, though several players later disputed the handwriting.
The situation deteriorated further when one participant began announcing scores “conversationally,” forcing nearby courts to pause intermittently for clarification.
Tournament staff eventually resolved the issue after assigning a volunteer monitor to repeat the score before every point “with sufficient conviction.”
At press time, all four competitors remained convinced they had behaved reasonably.