The rules state you cannot win this way, but tennis officials gave a Kentucky star the green light on a viral shot that actually robbed Georgia

The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team secured an incredible comeback victory over No. 12 Georgia this past weekend, but the match-winning point, which has since gone viral, likely should not have counted. This controversial moment has sparked a lot of discussion among tennis fans, and it’s a real shame because the officials’ call appears to have directly contradicted the rules, robbing the Bulldogs of a deserved win.

The Wildcats, ranked No. 27 nationally, were hosting No. 12 Georgia in Lexington on Senior Day when they quickly found themselves down 3-1 in the team match. The pressure was on, with the fate of the match hinging on the final three singles courts. To make Kentucky’s path to victory even more improbable, Georgia had won the first set in all three of those remaining matches, putting them just one set win away from clinching the overall team victory.

According to BroBible, the momentum dramatically shifted as Kentucky’s players dug deep and managed to win the second set in all three of those crucial matches. This pushed every remaining contest into a deciding third set, creating an incredibly tense finish. Georgia only needed to win one of these three final sets to secure the team win, but in a stunning turn of events, Kentucky won all three.

They were down 3-1 but did that final point actually count?

The dramatic comeback was sealed when Kentucky’s Eli Stephenson, No. 24 men’s singles player in the country, defeated Georgia’s Arda Azkara 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a tiebreak. Stephenson’s epic winner, involving jumping over net, immediately went viral, racking up over 3.5 million views. It was a spectacular moment to watch in real time, especially since various reasons for performance can affect the outcome of such a high-stakes match. This was the kind of shot that makes you jump out of your seat.

As awesome as Stephenson’s shot looked, the rules of college tennis, specifically the ITF Rules of Tennis Rule 24, Case 5, are pretty clear on this. While players are allowed to reach over the net to hit a ball if it bounces on their side first and spins back, and they’re even allowed to jump over net, there’s a critical caveat. The rule states that the ball must bounce twice on the opponent’s side of the net after the attacking player makes contact, before attacking player’s feet touch the ground on the opponent’s side.

In Stephenson’s case, his feet landed on Azkara’s side before the ball had bounced twice. This means the point should have rightfully gone to Georgia. Instead, officials ruled that the ball had gone dead by going out of the court, crediting Kentucky with the winner. This was a critical judgment call that cannot be reviewed, and it’s awful for Georgia because Stephenson’s illegal shot should have resulted in a team win for the Bulldogs.

It feels like the officials might have been swayed by the “Rule of Cool,” letting an amazing-looking play count despite what the rulebook says. Stephenson, a native of Louisville, chose to play his college tennis career at the University of Kentucky. He earned SEC All-Freshman team honors in 2023-24 and received ITA All-American honors as a sophomore, clearly a top-tier talent.

While his individual performance has been stellar, this controversial call casts a shadow over what should have been an unblemished team victory for the Wildcats.