Reuters
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – June 28, 2021 Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts during his first round match against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Reuters
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – June 28, 2021 Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts during his first round match against Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas has been one of the promising players on the men’s circuit. He grabbed two titles on the ATP tour this year and reached the final of the French Open as well. However, the World No. 3 player has been in the middle of a debate about bathroom breaks this year.
Tsitsipas has drawn criticism for taking extended bathroom breaks, which allegedly disturb the momentum of opposition players.
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ATP changes rule after Stefanos Tsitsipas scenario
The bathroom breaks were technically permissible according to the rules because they didn’t have a time-limit on the breaks. Now, the governing ATP body has intervened and change the rule. The added scrutiny on the rule due to the controversies with Tsitsipas could have been a factor in this decision.
From next season onwards, players will be only allowed to take one single break which must be taken at the end of a set. The break will have a time limit of three minutes, with an additional two minutes given for change of outfits.
During the US Open first-round match, it was Andy Murray who took on Stefanos Tsitsipas. During the match, Andy was up by two sets to one. As the Greek player leveled things at two sets all, he took a bathroom break of eight minutes.
USA Today via Reuters
Oct 12, 2021; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) hits a shot against Fabio Fognini (ITA) during a third round match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
That break was enough to cause a disruption in momentum and the World No. 4 took advantage of this situation. However, now the governing body has decided to bring a change and disallow such practices.
In the end, it was Murray who ended up on the losing side, and he mentioned that he lost respect for the youngster, as he seemed to be taking advantage of the rules. In the French Open final, the same thing happened to Stefanos against whom Novak Djokovic took a break at two-sets down and ended up winning the match.
What do you make of the recent rule changes by the ATP? Do you feel the earlier loophole was being unfairly exploited by players?
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