Tennis Time Outs

Medical time outs and bathroom breaks must be permitted in tennis, as they protect the players’ health and contribute to better play.  But time outs can have an impact on matches that, in my view should be addressed.  Consider the following incidents at this year’s Australian Open:

In the first round against Marina Erakovic, Garbine Muguruza struggled to win the first set, 7-5.  She then took a lengthy medical time out that left Erakovic on the court with nothing to do but wait.  When she came back, Muguruza dominated play and won the second set easily.

In the quarterfinals against Karolina Pliskova, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni took a medical tine out when down a break, 3-4, in the second set.  Pliskova had nothing to do but wait for her, and upon her return, Lucic-Barone blitzed Pliskova to win in straight sets.

In the semifinal between Federer and Wawrinka, Stan took a medical time out after dropping the first two sets, which left Federer with nothing to do but wait.  When he came back, Wawrinka won the next set 6-1 and won the fourth set as well.  After the fourth set, Federer took a medical time out, leaving Stan on the court with nothing to do but wait.  When he returned Roger won the fifth set.

So, while time outs must be permitted, I still believe measures should be taken to lessen the “freeze-out effect” that such interruptions of play can have on the other player.  On the women’s side I think the player who is waiting should be allowed to visit with her coach.  Coaching visits are not currently permitted on the men’s tour right now, so in that case, I think the waiting player should be provided with a hitting partner to stay loose with some light hitting.

Let’s be honest:  Time outs, though they must be permitted, can be used for gamesmanship.  Even when players are not taking a break to freeze out their opponents, the interruption can compromise the play of the person who simply must wait without knowing how long the break will be, what the exact reason is for the break, etc.  We need to do something to lessen this effect, whether or not it is deliberate.