The Dallas Open is underway, and Frances Tiafoe opened with a commanding 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Terence Atmane. While the match turned one-sided after the first set, the real talking point unfolded courtside, where Atmane drew attention by calling the physio for a rather bizarre and unexpected reason.

During the match, Terence Atmane drew attention during a break at the bench. The physio was called onto the court as Atmane examined his footwear. 

He appeared to be tapping and adjusting his shoes rather than dealing with a physical injury.

After a brief check, the physio left the court. Atmane then added extra tape inside his shoes to improve the fit and comfort.

Terence Atmane also took the court wearing Frances Tiafoe’s Sierra Leone-inspired Lululemon kit, the same outfit Tiafoe debuted during his 2026 Australian Open campaign to honour his Sierra Leone heritage.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

However, the situation regarding physio did not create any heated exchange during the match. Still, the moment stood out because the physio was called for a non-injury concern.

Such scenes may seem minor, but tennis has witnessed more controversial physio moments in the past. Some of them even created tension between players.

One major example came at the 2021 US Open. Andy Murray criticised Stefanos Tsitsipas after a series of long breaks during their first-round match.

After losing the third set, Tsitsipas took a medical timeout for treatment on his left foot. Later, he also took a seven-minute bathroom break and changed his kit.

Murray felt the long pauses affected him physically during the intense contest. He explained, “The issue is that you cannot stop the way that affects you physically.”

He added more detail about the impact of the delay. “When you’re playing a brutal match like that, you know, stopping for seven, eight minutes, you do cool down. You can prepare for it mentally as much as you like, but it’s the fact that it does affect you physically when you take a break that long, well, multiple times during the match.”

Murray also questioned the timing of another pause. Tsitsipas stopped to change racquets at a crucial moment while serving at love-30 in the fourth set.

A similar controversy appeared at the Australian Open this year. Alexander Zverev reacted strongly when Carlos Alcaraz was allowed a medical timeout during their semifinal.

Alcaraz appeared to be struggling late in the third set and received treatment. Zverev later said, “He was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping. I just said it was bu****t, basically.”

These incidents show how medical and physio calls can become sensitive moments. While some situations look minor or even unusual, they can disrupt rhythm and create tension, sometimes turning small issues into major on-court drama.

Tomljanovic accuses Ostapenko of faking injury during Wimbledon match

A similar incident to Atmane’s took place at Wimbledon in 2021. Ajla Tomljanovic and Jelena Ostapenko were involved in a tense exchange. The two players traded sharp words in front of the chair umpire after their third-round match.

Ostapenko requested a medical timeout while trailing 4-0 in the final set. Tomljanovic eventually won the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, but questioned the timing of the request.

After the match, the Australian said she did not believe her opponent was injured. She stated she “knew she wasn’t injured”.

Tomljanovic further questioned the situation. “There was nothing wrong with her the whole match, so why did she call it then?” she said.

In response, Ostapenko accused her opponent of poor behaviour. The Latvian player said Tomljanovic was “very disrespectful”.

The incident happened at a key moment. Tomljanovic was preparing to serve for a 5-0 lead when Ostapenko asked for the medical timeout. This led Tomljanovic to tell the umpire that her opponent was “lying” about the injury.

Speaking later, Tomljanovic shared her broader concern. “I have been in situations where players use that medical timeout to get their opponent off, usually when they are losing badly,” she said afterwards.

Another controversial case happened earlier at Wimbledon in 2017. Bernard Tomic called the physio during his straight-sets loss to Mischa Zverev. He later admitted the reason, saying, ‘I just thought I’d try to break a bit of momentum, to use that as my strategy, because I was just playing very bad and feeling bad out there.”

He also made another surprising remark after the match. “I felt a little bit bored, to be completely honest with you,” he said in the post-match press conference. 

These situations highlight how medical timeouts, when questioned, can disrupt rhythm, spark suspicion, and intensify on-court tension between players.