What is a hindrance call in tennis?

Novak Djokovic was called for hindrance during his Wimbledon semifinal win Friday.

Novak Djokovic is just one match victory away from his 24th Grand Slam title, which would set the all-time record for men or women in the Open Era and break his tie with Serena Williams at 23.

The No. 2-ranked player in the world won his Wimbledon semifinal match Friday, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4), over No. 8 Jannik Sinner to advance to Sunday’s final, when he’ll face either No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or No. 3 Daniil Medvedev. But Djokovic’s semifinal win had a super surprising moment.

During the second set against Sinner, Djokovic returned the ball and let out a loud and extended grunt. It was apparently too much for the chair umpire, who called the 36-year-old Serbian player for hindrance.

So what is hindrance? Simply, the ATP Tour’s 2021 rulebook described it as: “A hindrance may result (1) from a corrected call by an official or (2) from an inadvertent event that occurs on-court”.

But the section also notes that a “A distraction occurring on-court may be ruled inadvertent (unintentional) or ruled deliberate.” More via the 2021 ATP Tour rulebook:

Any player who created the hindrance must be advised that the next time play is stopped by the Chair Umpire because of that player’s similar actions; it shall result in a loss of point. …

Any distraction caused by a player may be ruled deliberate and result in the loss of a point (intentional or unintentional). Deliberate is defined as the play- er meant to do what it was that caused the hindrance or distraction.

This grunt from Djokovic certainly seems unintentional, but the rule clearly states the call leads to a loss of a point regardless of intentionality.

Here’s another example, from the 2021 ATP Tour rulebook:

Opponent Makes Noise

Case: During play, a player thinking he has hit a winner, shouts “vamos”, “come on”, “yes”, etc. as his opponent is in the act of hitting the ball.

Decision: If the Chair Umpire rules that a hindrance has occurred then, as the sound or exclamation that caused the hindrance was deliberate, the point shall be awarded.

23 awesome Novak Djokovic photos from his 23 singles Grand Slam victories