Stefanos Tsitsipas and His Long History of Controversial Toilet Breaks

Greece’s best tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas has earned quite a reputation for his long bathroom breaks. Although they do not void any rule, his opponents often tend to get furious at him. The Greek, however, does not mind them at all.

Most recently, Tsitsipas got some harsh comments from Andy Murray after their US Open 2021 opening round match. In essence, he took a 10 minutes bathroom break before the final set, leaving the Scot unsettled. Consequently, Murray lost and called out Tsitsipas on his behavior.

“Just do something about it. Speak about it all the time, and nothing ever gets done. Same things keep happening,” Murray said in the post-match press conference.

Notably, only weeks before this incident, Alexander Zverev had called out on Tsitsipas’ extended breaks. The German even went further and labeled the bathroom breaks as a medium for illegal on-court coaching.

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“He took his bag with his phone and everything in it,” Zverev said to the chair umpire. “This was the same thing in Paris and is going to be the same thing every other tournament he’s playing.”

Opponents’ reactions to Stefanos Tsitsipas’ bathroom breaks

At the Miami Open 2018, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas had gotten into a verbal fight. Indeed, the cause for it was an extended long bathroom break from the Greek.

Though things have changed between the two, Tsitsipas taking off the court has become a common encounter. Naturally, it did not go well with many other opponents, too.

At the Hamburg Open 2021 QFs, Tsitsipas had played a similar skit against Filip Krajinovic. Although he lost that match, his opponent disapproved of his act.

“We all saw that. He [Tsitsipas] went to the toilet [for] 10 minutes [between the second and third sets]. I was having an overhead, and he was talking, which is not nice at all. I hope that he will apologise one day,” he said.

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Conversely, when Ugo Humbert was asked what he thought of Tsitsipas’ break, he gave a straightforward response. It was after their Paris Masters 2020 match.

“When he [Tsitsipas] went to the toilets, I was astonished. [I] just never saw that, even on television. But that was OK; it relaxed me. I could stop and drink. It wasn’t a problem,” Humbert answered.

Moreover, in Cincinnati 2021, his opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime quietly waited for his opponent for over 10 minutes. Indeed, in such a time, the other player is at the risk of losing all the match tension.

Tsitsipas defends his bathroom breaks between tennis sets

After the US Open 2021 R1 loss, Murray even said that he lost respect for Tsitsipas. In response, the Greek professional provided a response.

“I don’t know how my opponent feels when I’m out there playing the match. It’s not really my priority. As far as I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine,” he said.

All in all, it is entirely legal for Tsitsipas to do it until the rules update. And if that suits his game, then it does. Which side are you on in this?

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