diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/table.py b/lib/matplotlib/table.py
index 0a2121a127df..6503d3027549 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/table.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/table.py
@@ -350,14 +350,8 @@ def __setitem__(self, position, cell):
         self.stale = True
 
     def __getitem__(self, position):
-        """
-        Retrieve a custom cell from a given position.
-        """
-        try:
-            row, col = position[0], position[1]
-        except Exception:
-            raise KeyError('Only tuples length 2 are accepted as coordinates')
-        return self._cells[row, col]
+        """Retrieve a custom cell from a given position."""
+        return self._cells[position]
 
     @property
     def edges(self):