Title: Medvedev and the Umpire Controversy: A Mistake with a Grain of Truth

During his chaotic first-round US Open match on Sunday night, tennis player Daniil Medvedev (world No. 13) turned to the TV camera and snapped: “[The umpire] wants to go home… He gets paid per match, not per hour!”

The controversy began on match point in the third set for Medvedev's opponent, unseeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, when a photographer walked onto the court between the first and second serve. Umpire Greg Allensworth ordered the photographer off and then announced that Bonzi would be granted a new first serve due to the interruption.

The crowd booed Allensworth, and Medvedev, unhappy with the decision to replay the point, incited the spectators. The tennis player then approached the umpire and verbally insulted him—that's when he alleged that Allensworth would be biased toward shortening the match due to his pay structure. (The 2021 US Open champion ended up losing in the fifth set.)

The USTA (United States Tennis Association) confirmed to Sportico that US Open chair umpires are generally paid per day, not per match. They receive a flat fee, regardless of whether they officiate one or two matches per day (they could theoretically do three, but it's rare). Their pay is determined by their certification level, as defined by a joint program of the ATP, WTA, International Tennis Federation (ITF), and the Grand Slams. The "Gold" level is the highest an umpire can achieve. Allensworth, who officiated the 2023 US Open final, is one of only 33 Gold Badge chair umpires, according to his LinkedIn profile.

This daily pay structure applies to all chair umpires hired by the USTA as contractors for the three-week tournament. There are also eight chair umpires at the 2025 US Open who are paid weekly from a fund contributed to by the four Grand Slams.

However, there is one single chair umpire at this US Open who is an ATP employee and is working the tournament as part of a personnel exchange between the two organizations—which also includes support in areas like communications and media.

In an ironic twist of fate, that single umpire is none other than Greg Allensworth.

Allensworth is paid by the ATP, which clarified that his remuneration for the US Open—unlike the other umpires—is not per day or per week: he is a salaried employee.

Therefore, Medvedev got the details wrong, but he was correct in the sense that Allensworth would not receive extra pay for a longer match, as umpires do not receive overtime for matches that run long.

Medvedev's allegations of bias, however, are unfounded. Furthermore, a conflict of interest would still exist if umpires were paid by the hour—just in the opposite direction: they would be incentivized to prolong matches to earn more.