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“Same As You”: Chair Umpire Delivers Sharp Retort After Player’s Insulting Remark

Players venting their frustration at chair umpires is common practice on tour. Umpires, for the most part, stay quiet and let a code violation do the talking. Marko Plese did not follow those footsteps. It happened during the quarterfinals of…

By Prem Mehta · Essentially Sports

Published: Saturday, 7 November 2026 at 5:43 AM

Key Things to Know

Chair umpire Marko Plese replied "Same as you" after player Maxim Mrva insulted his officiating level.
The heated verbal exchange occurred during Mrva's quarterfinal match at the Taranto Challenger.
France's Matteo Martineau defeated Czech Republic's Maxim Mrva 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.

The Story in 60 Seconds

Chair umpire Marko Plese delivered a sharp retort to 19-year-old Czech player Maxim Mrva during the quarterfinals of the Taranto Challenger. Trailing Matteo Martineau 4-5 in the second set, Mrva criticized Plese for officiating lower-tier tournaments due to making mistakes, to which Plese replied, "Same as you." Plese issued no code violation for the heated exchange.

Despite recovering to win the second set, Mrva was defeated by France's Martineau 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Unlike the ATP Tour's fully automated electronic line calling, the Challenger Tour relies heavily on human line judges, creating frequent points of contention for players contesting calls during matches.

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“Same As You”: Chair Umpire Delivers Sharp Retort After Player’s Insulting Remark

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