John McEnroe calls for rule change after ‘hindrance’ incident between Jannik Sinner and Jan-Lennard Struff
Jannik Sinner looked like he had Jan-Lennard Struff just where he wanted him early in the second set of their quarter-final encounter at Wimbledon.
After the Italian took a tight first set 7-5, the defending champion was in a strong position to go a break up in the first game of the second set.
Whenever the rally is extended, the 24-year-old is generally favoured to come out on top against the big-hitting German, due to his superior defending skills and consistency from the baseline.
And just when Sinner seemed to be gaining the upper hand when he had 30-40 on Struff’s serve, a ball fell out of the 36-year-old’s pocket mid-point.
The umpire called a let and the point was replayed, with Struff getting a first serve again. This led to a debate amongst the BBC commentary team of Andrew Castle, John Lloyd, and John McEnroe.
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McEnroe said, “The ball fell out of his pocket. First time they play a let, second time he loses the point. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
The seven-time major winner then quipped maybe Struff did it intentionally as he was getting tired during the long rally.
Castle chimed in that this was a “tremendous disadvantage” for Sinner and sure enough, Struff won the point with a big serve.
American McEnroe then said that while Struff got a first serve, he should “probably only get a second” serve.
Lloyd highlighted how the let rule usually comes into play when a player’s hat falls off but incidents like these do happen, albeit rarely.
Struff went onto hold serve, prompting Castle to raise an interesting question.
“Why would it be a hindrance on the second time it happened and not the first? It’s hindrance. That has materially affected this match at this point,” he said.
As Castle pointed out, a ball falling from a player’s pocket during a point is classed as hindrance.
At the 2026 United Cup, a ball fell out of Flavio Cobolli’s pocket, prompting him to stop playing the point.
According to the rules, a player cannot claim hindrance against himself. Because the loose ball came from his pocket, and was therefore within his control, Cobolli was forced to concede the point despite the incident being accidental.
Struff did stop the point against Sinner but as this was the first time it happened, the German got away with it.
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