World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the biggest draws in the sport. The Greek star has been earning a lot of accolades. In fact, as the former World No. 3, Tsitsipas is the highest-ranked Greek player ever.

However, the one thing he is infamous for is his bathroom breaks. Many on the circuit, and a lot of fans as well, have not taken too kindly to his behavior. In fact, other players on the circuit, too, have spoken up against it.

Stefanos Tsitsipas fends off criticisms with humor

Tsitsipas, in the US Open this year, only lasted till the third round. However, in the very first two matches, took three toilet breaks. Moreover, he even had a medical timeout for himself. Furthermore, the Greek also held up the match by deciding to switch rackets in the middle of the match.

The latest tennis movie that is doing the rounds is ‘King Richard,’ and it features the life of Serena and Venus Williams. The final act of the movie depicts Venus Williams’ second professional match against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. The latter took a long bathroom break, which ended up changing the course of the match.

Thus, somebody on Twitter made a joke about how the movie depicted Vicario’s break as something villainous. However, according to the Twitter user, Stefanos Tsitsipas interrupts his matches for a lot longer. What they might not have expected is the Greek to take notice and respond personally.

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In fact, Tsitsipas did react, and the Greek had nothing but jokes about the issue. “Ask my girlfriend regarding bathroom breaks… it’s been pissing her off since day one,” he joked.

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Clearly, Tsitsipas has no qualms talking about the matter humorously. In fact, it seems he doesn’t have anything to defend or justify, either. But are his actions during the match for the purpose of interrupting the flow of the game, within the rules?

Many debate the legality of Tsitsipas’ actions

Tsitsipas faced Andy Murray in the first round of the US Open and the Brit spoke up against his ‘disruptive behavior.’ With Murray, Tsitsipas took a considerably long toilet break which lasted 8 to 9 minutes.

Moreover, even in the fourth set, he took an 8-minute break and a medical timeout. When he switched rackets while being down on his serve, his former World No. 1 rival was visibly irked.

The New York crowd, too, got behind the Brit and expressed their dissatisfaction with the lengthy interruptions in the match. “I have zero time for that stuff at all and I lost respect for him,” Murray had said in the post-match conference.

Furthermore, Tsitsipas had even interrupted his second-round match against Adrian Mannarino. After losing his second set against the Frenchman, Tsitsipas went off the court for a long toilet break. Then, he came back to win the match in four sets.

What are your thoughts about Stefanos’ behavior? Is it unsportsmanlike,, or just a rule he’s clever enough to use in his favor?

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