Home player Arthur Gea ran off the court for an emergency bathroom break early in the first set of his French Open debut on Sunday.
“I need to go to the bathroom. I can’t move anymore. I’m going to (go) on the court,” Gea told the chair umpire in French before hastily running off Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
The 135th-ranked Gea was trailing 13th-seeded Karen Khachanov 4-2 when he made his move. Khachanov won 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-0.
Usually, bathroom breaks are only permitted between sets.
Khachanov protested to the chair umpire as three minutes passed between games at a point in the match that was not a changeover when players change ends.
Gea said the umpire allowed him the break because of “medical circumstances” and that he was given some medicine to settle his stomach pain.
After the match, Gea said he had not felt ill the night before but started feeling unwell when he woke up in the morning.
“During the match it was even worse,” he said. “I had to go to the toilet really quick.”
His situation was not helped by the intense heat at Roland Garros with lunchtime temperatures hitting 31 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit).
“It was harder than usual, because I was ill,” he said.
The 21-year-old Gea received a wild card invitation from Roland Garros organizers to participate in the main draw.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
