The Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova might have hung her racquet, but her legacy goes on. And so does her concerns. Sharapova was usually very calm and focused during her matches. However, the tennis realm has witnessed her on-court outbursts due to the frustration of medical time-outs. She has bashed her opponents as well as chair umpires for untimely medical time-outs, which hindered her rhythm.

In 2014, during her first-round match at the US Open, her opponent took a medical time-out. And this was something that led her to come up with a strict $2,500 solution.

Maria Sharapova once suggested expensive regulations to restrict medical time-outs

In a sport where the rhythm takes center stage, it was not unfair on Sharapova’s part to find it hindering her performance. However, it was also a major concern for her as she got worked up on multiple occasions because of the same reason.

After her first-round match against Maria Kirilenko, she expressed her views on the medical timeout. Her opponent had asked her trainer to go through her left-foot problem during the match by taking a medical time-out. As the question was posed about what rule changes would she like to see in tennis, she gave an assertive answer.

As reported by SI, she stated, “I’d probably start charging for medical timeouts.” Sharapova wished to see the change then. She added with a laugh, “I think we’d all see who really uses them and who doesn’t.”

She then came up with an extravagant condition. She stated, “I don’t know what we put on it, maybe like $2,500 or something. Yeah, I think we should do that. That would be fun.” This, however, has not been implemented yet.

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However, there are players who are still discontent with this rule as it breaks the rhythm of the players. Like Sharapova, a legend of the sport had once bashed the Swiss Maestro for using medical timeout during a crucial match.

Pat Cash criticized medical time out of Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal 

The 20-time Grand Slam champion was in the grueling 2017 Australian Open final against his archrival, the Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal. During the match, Federer decided to take a time-out because of an injury.

Later, as he secured a glorious victory against Nadal, former Australian tennis star Pat Cash criticized Federer. He stated that this rule should not be allowed. He even went on to call medical timeout, “legal cheating”. 

What are your views about this contentious rule in tennis? Do you think players should be allowed to take medical timeouts without any condition? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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