The Rules of Tennis
There has been a lot of recent attention in the tennis media about the toilet habits of Stefanos Tsitispas. Since I run a (loosely) rules focused blog, people have been asking me for my opinion on the situation. Consequently, it would be fair say that I simply had to go there. (See what I did there?)
For anyone who is new here, I am a senior women tennis player who has given birth to two children. More directly, I have the bladder capacity stereotypically associated with those two conditions. I am empathetic when anyone needs to take a restroom break at any point in the match.
Officials should not be put in the position of determining need when a player requests a toilet break during a match. There simply isn’t a good way to assess whether the player actually has to go or not. Even though there are rules that attempt to constrain when those breaks can be taken, in a recreational match toilet breaks are usually permitted at any changeover.
The US Open and the other three Grand Slam tournaments have their own official rule book that is independent from those used on the ATP and WTA tours. At the US Open, the Grand Slam Rule Book indicates that the ITF Rules of Tennis has precedence for all matters unless overridden by the same source.
The Rules of Tennis and Duties and Procedures for Officials published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) shall apply in all Grand Slam Tournament matches, unless otherwise specified by the GSB.
The Official Grand Slam Rule Book, Article I.K
The rules surrounding toilet breaks are one of those situations that happens to be specifically covered by the Grand Slam Rule Book.
A player may request permission to leave the court for a reasonable time for a toilet break, a change of attire break, or both, but for no other reason. Toilet breaks should be taken on a set break and change of attire breaks must be taken on a set break.
The Official Grand Slam Rule Book, Article I.W.4
Stefanos Tsitsipas insists that he has done nothing wrong. Following his ouster from the US Open at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz, he responded to an interview question about the controversy about his toilet breaks this way:
“I took my toilet break as a normal athlete. [I] might have taken a bit longer than other athletes. But if there is a rule that says there’s a specific amount of time that you are allowed to take, then I would probably try and follow that.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas as reported by the Guardian
Stefanos is exactly right. The rule specifies “reasonable” as the allowable length, but does not indicate a duration. It will be interesting to see if the 2022 Grand Slam Rule Book is updated to quantify reasonable.
- Official Grand Slam Rule Book, International Tennis Federation, 2021.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas hits back over toilet break criticism after US Open exit, The Guardian, September 4, 2021.
