Tennis match abruptly delayed as umpire draws on player’s shirt and crowd loudly boo | Tennis | Sport

There was an unusual delay to the start of Frances Tiafoe’s first-round match in Delray Beach when umpire Joshua Brace spotted an issue with his shirt. The No. 8 seed took to the court wearing a black sleeveless vest made by his sponsor, Lululemon. But before Tiafoe’s clash with Rinky Hijikata could get underway, the umpire suddenly got down off his chair and informed the American that he couldn’t compete with a shirt containing so many sponsor patches.

Fans sitting in the Centre Court stands in Delray Beach started booing as the start of the match continued to be held up until they could find a solution. “Tiafoe having a conversation with the chair umpire, it looks to be something about the wardrobe, I believe,” commentators said.

“Referee coming out just to make a judgement. Lululemon is the apparel brand of course, he’s got a couple of other corporate sponsors on the right chest. Not the way we expected the evening to get underway. It’s taken a little while to spot it. You wonder if they will get going in a moment.”

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But the delay went on as Tiafoe could then be seen grabbing his bag. The rest of his shirts had the same sponsor logos on them, so he had nothing to change into to comply with the rules. A ball girl ran over, delivering a solid black marker. And Tiafoe had to stand in the middle of the court while the umpire coloured over one white Barclays logo, darkening it so it blended in with the rest of his shirt. While he drew on the No. 8 seed’s kit, boos rang out around the arena.

“This might be a first. I cannot recall the time a chair umpire has a marker in hand,” the commentators added. “Normally you can have a patch on each sleeve. If you’re playing sleeveless then you hope they’ll be able to go on the front, where they are, but clearly that’s not the case.”

The ATP rulebook states that players wearing sleeveless shirts can only have two sponsor logos on the front. Had Tiafoe been wearing a short-sleeve top, he would have been able to have two on the front, and a third on the sleeve.

However, the world No. 28 had a white Lululemon logo – his apparel sponsor – on one side of his chest on the shirt. On the other side was a UXG logo and a Barclays logo. And this was too much in accordance with the ATP rulebook.

The rule for sleeveless shirts explains that players are allowed “two (2) logo positions of the clothing manufacturer or commercial ID none of which exceeds six (6) square inches (39 sq. cm.) may be placed on the front of the shirt. If no more than one (1) logo is placed on the front or collar of the shirt, then one (1) manufacturer logo may be placed on the back.”

For shirts with sleeves, players are also allowed “two positions for commercial (i.e., non-clothing manufacturer) or manufacturer’s identification for each sleeve, neither of which exceeds six (6) square inches (39 sq. cm). A maximum of two (2) logos may be placed within each 6 square inch (39 sq. cm.) position. Logos may contain writing.”

Tiafoe wore a short-sleeve kit to compete in Dallas last week and had all three sponsors – Lululemon, UXG and Barclays – on show across his chest and sleeves. But he learned his lesson after trying out a vest in Delray Beach. The delay didn’t bother the 2018 champion, who clinched a 6-4 6-4 victory to move into the last 16. But Tiafoe later made his feelings on the incident clear, commenting a few eye-rolling emojis on an Instagram video of the umpire blacking out the logo on his shirt.

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