Tennis Player Disqualified For Taking '10-Second Shower' During Toilet Break

Wednesday, 13 August 2025 at 15:03

byErik Virostko

Tennis, like any other sport, has its own set of rules, but some can be quite bizarre, which meant a disqualification for one of the players at an ATP Challenger event in Greece.

Every sport approaches unexpected situations differently. For example, in ice hockey, basketball, football, or any other team sport, if a player is injured, they are usually substituted by someone else, and the match continues.

That is not the case in tennis, where there is no one to substitute. That's why a match between Francisco Comesana and Reilly Opelka at the Cincinnati Open was stopped for over 10 minutes since Comesana was not feeling well.

But that is not the only unique rule that tennis has. Another set of quite specific rules is tied to the bathroom breaks. Tennis players are entitled to a bathroom break between sets, and they can also request a change of attire break. The difference between the two is the duration, as a bathroom break lasts three minutes, while the change of attire break lasts five minutes.

At the ATP Challenger 50 event in Hersonissos, Greece, Mats Rosenkranz and Pietro Fellin both used a change of attire break after Rosenkranz won the first set 7-5.

Fellin was the first player back on the court, with the umpire of the match then communicating through a walkie-talkie, announcing to Rosenkranz how much time he had left.

At one point, the umpire announces the last 30 seconds, and with a couple of seconds to go, the person in charge of supervising the player announces that the player had finished and that they were returning to the court.

Before Rosenkranz returned to the court, Fellin was heard asking the umpire whether his opponent didn't have to return to the court within the five-minute window, but the umpire correctly explained that the break itself should last five minutes, not including the transfer. That's also what the official ATP rulebook states.

"A change of attire break is limited to a maximum of five (5) minutes from the time the player enters the off-court changing area/toilet."

Once Rosenkranz returned, the person who supervised his break told the umpire that the German player had used the shower. It seemed that the umpire was not aware of the rule that didn't permit that, so he called a supervisor.

Rosenkranz didn't understand what was happening on the court, but after a brief discussion with the supervisor, despite explaining that he took only a "10-second shower," Rosenkranz was disqualified from the match.

The ATP rulebook says that the bathroom break and the change of attire break can only be used for these purposes and nothing else, which is why Rosenkranz was disqualified.

"Toilet or change of attire breaks may only be taken on a set break and can be used for no other purpose."

Casper Ruud was previously also fined for a similar breach of rules

Casper Ruud was previously fined for a similar breach of rules, but the Norwegian player avoided a disqualification. During the 2022 Canadian Open in Montreal, Ruud requested a bathroom break, but he didn't use it.

Once he returned, the umpire of the match, Fergus Murphy, gave Ruud a warning, explaining that he had to use the bathroom during the bathroom break.

"You have to go to the bathroom as well. That's the rule. The rule is covered by the bathroom break rule. You have to go to the bathroom, that’s your business. You can change your clothes but you have to go to the bathroom when you say you're going to the bathroom. When you don't go I have to give you a warning for not going, that's why I'm explaining it."

Ruud, however, was allowed to continue, and ultimately, he won his match against Roberto Bautista Agut. The Norwegian then reached the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Rosenkranz is not the first player to be disqualified for taking a shower

Although Ruud avoided a disqualification for his breach of the rules, Rosenkranz wasn't the first player disqualified from a match for taking a shower. In 2022, Federico Delbonis and Nicolas Moreno de Alboran played at the ATP Challenger event in Seville, with De Alboran being disqualified.

The match was tied after each player won one set, and after De Alboran fell to the ground multiple times, he wanted to wash the clay from his body during the break between the sets. The umpire, however, didn't have any understanding for that.