Dear Sir,

I expect you have received an avalanche of letters on the Foot Fault drama at the US Open over the weekend – and a general review of this aspect of the Rules of Tennis may well be overdue.

In the meantime, perhaps, the International Tennis Federation (the ITF), to whom I am copying this letter, may care to take my thoughts into consideration in their forthcoming studies on the issue.

I have umpired hundreds of tennis matches over the years and I have also had the duty, for duty it is, to take the baseline as a line judge on many occasions. This is the most difficult line to take and, as the world now knows, it is the role of this unfortunate judge also to call foot faults.

Amateur and professional players alike hate having foot faults called against them. It can be unsettling and players, after being called, remain overly conscious of the need NOT to foot fault for many points and games to come.

Knowing how disconcerting it can be for players, I have devised a ploy which other line judges may care to consider on an interim basis until a new policy is put in place by the ITF.

Most line judges will not call a player for the very first foot fault in a match.But if a player tends to foot fault more than a couple of times, it is the duty of the line judge to call such foot fault.

Since neither line judges nor umpires are permitted, under the rules, to "warn" a player, the most agreeable way to issue this warning is to call a foot fault, always and only on the first serve, when the service goes into the net. Call the foot fault very loudly the very moment the ball strikes the net. Since it is a fault anyway, the player has been clearly warned, but has not been penalised a point.

In the specific case of Serena (Williams), it is likely that she actually foot faulted several times during the course of the match. So, in reality, the line judge was probably wrong not to have called one or more of them earlier. Frankly, every player foot faults from time to time – some more blatantly than others.

Those who witnessed this bizarre event, or who saw it later on film, generally agree that the line judge's timing was terrible, and thoughtless, particularly since she probably had the opportunity to call Serena earlier and at a less crucial point. Furthermore, she made the call on the second service, thereby awarding the point to her opponent.

Serena was penalised for unsportsmanlike behaviour. Tennis remains, to some extent, a "Gentlemen's Game". The line judge's call, at that moment, can hardly be considered sportsmanlike.

During the many investigations that will be undertaken, both officially and unofficially, I think it would be of interest and probably of value to re-run the tape of the match and observe how many times Serena "technically" foot faulted earlier. And, for that matter, how may times, if any, her opponent foot faulted during the match without being called.

If the foot fault rule continues to be enforced, which it undoubtedly should be, it is clear that players should have a chance to challenge a call through instant replay. And this will probably be one of the ITF's recommendations.

In the meantime, I do hope that some line judges, at least in amateur tournaments, will consider my innocuous 'warning' method.

It has proved effective over many years and I have never been threatened to have a ball shoved down my throat.

ROBIN BLACKBURNE