Have a look at the ATP rules regarding bathroom breaks and medical timeoutsย
The ATP Tour revealed new rules concerning bathroom breaks, and dress modifications that came into effect starting in 2022, as well as a suggested modification to the medical time-out rule, with starting dates to be disclosed.
ATP new bathroom break rules and tennis medical timeouts explained
A toilet break during a nearly six-hour tennis match that ended after four in the morning sounded like an easy request. Andy Murray’s request was denied, which raises concerns about prioritising broadcasters over player welfare.
The Australian Open should have been glad for Andy Murray’s inspiring comeback tale after injury forced the withdrawal of Rafael Nadal and local favourite Nick Kyrgios.
However, the Scottish veteran’s comeback victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia, who was playing in the second round on Thursday, was lost among discussion of bathroom breaks and timings.
Murray became irate with the chair umpire during the final 45 minutes of the longest match of his long career (5 hours and 45 minutes), when he requested to use the restroom but was turned down.
“It’s a joke! We’re out here till f***ing 4 a.m. and we’re not allowed to take a piss,” the former World No. 1 and Olympic gold medallist argued, as perย dw.com.ย
What are the ATP rules concerning toilet breaks and medical timeouts
Murray has been heavily involved in the debate surrounding bathroom breaks in tennis in recent years. The majority tennis tournaments outside of grand slams are administered by the ATP and WTA organisations, and last year they modified the rules.
The US Open, when Stefanos Tsitsipas came under fire for taking a seven-minute break during his match against Andy Murray, sparked the debate throughout bathroom breaks that led to the new rules.
Fact of the day. It takes Stefanos Tsitipas twice as long to go the bathroom as it takes Jeff Bazos to fly into space. Interesting. ๐ฝ ๐
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 31, 2021
Murray would later comment on Tsitsipas’ restroom break, (plus other injury timeouts that were taken during the match) calling it simply sad and saying, “It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match”.ย
He further said:
I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it influenced what was happening after those breaks.
The ATP made new guidelines after much discussion about the situation, which is obvious evidence of their consideration. (According to ATP) They are:
Toilet Break & Change of Attire (Effective 2022)
- Once inside the bathroom, players have a three-minute time limit.
- Along with the three minutes for the bathroom, players will also have two minutes to change their clothes.
- Note: You may only change clothes when taking a bathroom break (unless authorised by the Chair Umpire).
- Each participant is permitted one bathroom break every game.
- Toilet breaks are only permitted during set breaks.
- If a player does not arrive in the allotted time, time violations will be made.
New guidelines for medical timeouts were also introduced by the ATP.
Medical Time Out
- Each match is allowed one three-minute break, which can only be used during a set break or a changeover.
- The points needed to advance to the next change of ends or set break will be lost if the player is unable to do so.
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