Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Marija Cicak – three names, three complicated histories. The first two names have been consistently found at the top of the WTA charts in the last few years. But Cicak? The legendary umpire is leading the charge not just at the WTA but was the first woman to umpire the men’s singles final at Wimbledon in 2021. Today, Swiatek and Sabalenka take on each other for the 12th time in their careers. And keeping a watch on them from the sidelines will be someone whom they’ve both locked horns with before.

In a May interaction, when Sabalenka was playing the Italian Open final against Swiatek, Cicak was the umpire that day too. The Polish player won that encounter 6-2, 6-3, and didn’t give an inch to the Belarusian. Already in a tense mood, Cicak seemed to be asking Saba to hurry up when she sat down to have a drink of water.

Apparently feeling rushed when the umpire asked her to get back on the court, Sabalenka could be heard saying, “What’s your mood today? You’re like, so strict on the time.” While the Croatian official maintained her cool with an ever-present smile, was the atmosphere a little stiff? Either way, the crowd laughed and even the commentators said it might have been a light-hearted moment.

Today, Cicak is overseeing two of the top 3 WTA players yet again! But if you look back to the 2023 Cincinnati Open, Iga Swiatek and Marija Cicak didn’t have such a jolly time. And again, it had to do with timing.

Just a few weeks ago, Danielle Collins had a heated exchange with Swiatek at the Paris Olympics QF and didn’t like it when the Pole took a long break, although it wasn’t against the rules. In Cincy last year, Cicak took issue with Swiatek for another timing problem. Up against Marketa Vondrousova, people moving in the crowd apparently distracted Swiatek. She stopped play just as her opponent got ready to serve, but the Croatian umpire was not having it, “It is not your time. You were stood there for another 5-7 to seven seconds for no reason and you can at least turn around.”

Umpires and players are bound to clash every now and then and the relationship isn’t always drama-free. Even though Swiatek later stated that she respected Cicak, she wasn’t happy with how she was a stickler for rules. “I respect Marija Cicak, she’s a great umpire,” the Pole said. “But overall she’s really strict with the rules, and she’s applying them always, looking at even like one second and everything.”

While Swiatek and Sabalenka still resolved their issues with Cicak civilly, another player was not happy with how Cicak treated her in Rome last year. If it was up to Jelena Ostapenko, she would likely never play with the Croatian in charge of the proceedings again.

Jelena Ostapenko lashes out at same chair umpire Iga Swiatek had beef with

The lack of a video review system implemented sport-wide regularly causes tensions to arise between those playing and those judging. Just look at Coco Gauff’s track record this year. Back in 2023 at the Italian Open, it was Ostapenko in another heated debate with Cicak.

When a ball that Penko thought was out was ruled in by Marija Cicak, the Latvian was furious. “Call the supervisor,” she angrily told the chair umpire. “They cannot help you with my decisions. And they can explain that later,” was Cicak’s reply, who did not want to cause a delay. Realizing she couldn’t do much now, Ostapenko boldly claimed, “You will never, ever be at my match again.”

While there is of course a margin for error in human judgment, someone of Cicak’s position naturally demands respect. Whether the player is correct or the umpire, the debate between them will always be fraught with tension. Maybe a video review system can solve it, or maybe not!