47. MEDICAL TIME OUTS

One of my biggest bug-bears in pro tennis is the ‘tactical’ medical time out taken by some players, especially when there is no obvious or critical need for one. It’s a personal opinion and I am not sure how many other people are perturbed by it, but having been around the tour for a fair few years now, I see the medical time out as a clear tactic adopted by some players when they are down, done to upset the rhythm of their opponent, and, a kin to a bathroom break before the third set 10 point tie break in doubles, and I question whether or not such a break is always really necessary or fair.

I recently watched a final round of qualifying match in a W25 in Florida. The higher ranked player was down. She was being beaten. The score was 6/2 3/6 9/7 to the lower ranked player who was about to serve for the match. Just at this point, the higher ranked player called for the medic as she had cut her finger and it was bleeding. Now this was not a significant cut – it looked something like a nail tag that had been pulled causing it to bleed. Most ordinary people would have simply either wiped the offending finger with a tissue and carried on, or even just licked it clean. But not in this instance. In a clear attempt to break the rhythm of her likely victor, she called for a time out. Five minutes later, after a Band-Aid/plaster had been applied to the said finger, the match resumed. But the lower ranked player had stayed focused and managed to serve the match out – the fairer result, given the unsportsmanlike behaviour that had been adopted by her opponent.

Closer to home, in a recent match being played by my own player against a girl ranked over 100 ranking places above her, the seed similarly decided to call a medical time out at a key stage of the third set. The higher ranked player had been leading 5/2 in the third but my player had pulled back and was about to serve for the match at 6/5. In another clear attempt to upset the rhythm of the match, a medical time out was called, again for a Band Aid/plaster. This time the tactic was more successful and the seed drew level at 6/6 and then went on to win the tie break 10/8. After a 3-hour battle this was heart breaking for my player as she had put everything into the match and didn’t deserve the bitter ending that ensued.

Now I know that players need to develop mental toughness and be prepared for such eventualities but should players be permitted to call for a medic for trivial issues such as a small cut to the knee or finger for example? For sure, if blood is flowing (as was the case of Raducanu in the US Open final in 2021), but the Umpire should surely be able to make a judgement call to decide whether or not a medic is really needed if the timing of the request is clearly critical and questionable. All players, after all, typically carry basic first aid kits, and certainly plasters, in their bag so could just apply these themselves – do they really need a medic to do this?

All too often these days this stalling technique is being used, especially in the women’s game, and it is poor and should, in my opinion, be penalised. There are players who are known for it and the Umpires should be made aware of this. Patterns emerge with certain players and these should be documented. There is one player I have observed who pretty much always calls for a time out in the middle of the third set if she is losing. It’s a pattern and such behaviour should be logged against players names and flagged if they continue to adopt this ‘technique’, as after all is it clearly ‘unsportsmanlike.’ What do you think? Do you agree or do you think it’s an acceptable tactic to adopt if a player needs time to re-group? Whatever your opinion, make sure your player is prepared for it to happen, as happen it will, and she needs to be able to handle it and remain focused during the delay.

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