Sloane Stephens Calls for ‘Rule’ Change After Andy Murray vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Bathroom Break Debate at US Open

The debate around bathroom breaks continues to do the rounds at the ongoing US Open 2021. With Andy Murray starting it after taking issue with Stefanos Tsitsipas, several players are voicing their opinions on the same, with Sloane Stephens joining the conversation.

Following her victory over 21st seed Coco Gauff, the American tennis star believed rule changes are in order.

Sloane Stephens addresses gamesmanship debate after second-round victory

The 28-year-old notched an impressive victory over Gauff yesterday to punch her ticket to the third round. Despite Stephens’ World No. 66 status, she defeated the 21st seed in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. While the bathroom break debate rages on, Stephens retweeted Murray’s tweet on Tsitsipas’ bathroom break during their first-round match.

Although she admitted the retweet came because she found it funny, she made her stance clear towards the leniency shown by such actions. During her post-match press conference, she admitted rule changes need to be made in order to curb the issue surrounding bathroom breaks.

She said, “I can’t speak for what happened in that match, but on the girls’ side there is still a lot of that. It’s gamesmanship, and I think there definitely needs to be a rule, or changes.

They make a lot of rule changes for smaller things, like they took one minute off the warmup. But, if someone goes to the bathroom for nine minutes, no one says anything. There are so many little things that can be changed and looked at, but I think that hasn’t been done.”

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Stephens believes six to eight minute-breaks are too long

When asked about the time limit that should be allowed, the American mentioned anything longer than five minutes should be questioned.

“I don’t think you should be gone from the court for, I don’t know. 6-8 minutes is a long time to leave a match,” said the 28-year-old. “It changes the whole momentum of a match. And if you’re changing your clothes, then what are you changing, or what are you doing in there?

“When you get into like six, seven, eight, nine minutes, like, okay, ‘What are you doing in there? Like, do you need help? I can come and help you!”

Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, will face either Angelique Kerber or Anhelina Kalinina in the third round.

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