The Australian Open won’t adopt the ATP’s new toilet break rules enacted in response to the Stefanos Tsitsipas-Andy Murray feud last year.
The ATP has said players will only be allowed one bathroom break per match, and it can only be taken at the end of a set.
Time violations will be used as punishment if any player breaches the allotted time limit.
Currently, the Australian Open – governed by the ITF – allows players to take two toilet breaks in best of five set matches for a “reasonable” amount of time.
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.
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 31, 2021
The issue came to a head last year when Tsitsipas and Murray clashed at the US Open in New York City.
Tsitsipas took a two-minute at the end of the second set, and an eight-minute break before the fifth set.
Murray claimed Tsitsipas was “cheating” during the final set, and doubled down on those claims post match after Tsitsipas scored victory.
“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match,” Murray said.
“I’m not saying I necessarily win that match, for sure, but it had influence on what was happening after those breaks.”
Nick Kyrgios also weighed in on the matter, when the chair umpire in charge of his first round match insisted he walk to his towel placed in either corner of the court.
“It’s not part of the game. So, texting someone’s part of the game too? Taking 20-minute bathroom breaks is part of the game? I need to take a shit, part of the game,” Kyrgios said.
At the time, Tsitsipas claimed he did nothing wrong according to ATP rules.
