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Updated November 23rd, 2021 at 11:17 IST

How Andy Murray had his wish fulfilled as ATP limits toilet breaks for male players

As per new ATP guidelines, male players bathroom breaks will be limited to one per match, lasting no longer than three minutes from the time they enter facility

Reported by: Suraj Alva
ATP Toilet break new rule
Image: AP | Image:self
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Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas' long toilet breaks had been the talking point amongst players and fans. Former Grand Slam winner Andy Murray even took to Twitter to express his displeasure over Tsitsipas' long toilet breaks which disrupts the flow of the match. In order to avoid more such issues, the ATP has taken a strong stand over the rules related to toilet breaks. 

A look at the new ATP toilet breaks guidelines

According to the report by The Guardian, the guidelines for the men’s game will limit bathroom breaks to one per match, lasting no longer than three minutes from the time the player enters the facility. As per the report, Players will be limited to one toilet break per match and they will only be permitted at the end of a set. Should a player spend too long in the bathroom he will be liable for time violations.

The ATP is also looking at new rules for medical timeouts by which players will only be allowed one three-minute time out per match to be taken during a changeover or a set break only.

Stefanos Tsitsipas toilet break story

At this year's US Open event, Andy Murray accused Stefanos Tsitsipas of cheating after his disappearance from the tennis court during the various stages of their first-round match. During the match, Tsitsipas had a lengthy toilet break at the end of the second set, a medical time-out after the third and a near eight-minute break at the conclusion of the fourth set.

Following the loss to Tsitsipas, Murray in his post-match conference said, "The issue is that you cannot stop the way that that affects you physically." Murray added, "I lost respect for him. It’s nonsense. And he knows it, as well. It's just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I'm not saying I necessarily win that match for sure, but it had an influence on what was happening after those breaks."

He further said, "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".

However, things did not improve even after that episode as Stefanos Tsitsipas in his next match, went to the locker room for more than seven minutes after losing the third set and was jeered by the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd on his return.

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Published November 23rd, 2021 at 11:17 IST

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