[lizzard11120]

In my opinion MTO should only be called for injuries cause on the court. Only thing is i have no idea how to implement something like this as invariably players will start calling for injuries like a sore back etc.

[Third Mall]

Originally Posted by doujyr

jj was famously denied a bathroom break by the umpire at wimbledon when she was clearly taking the piss (pun intended)

If you're taking too many or too long without any medicaly condition then, yes, that should be penalised. But you can't "charge" for a bathroom break.

[lizzard11120]

Seriously, many of us play tennis. How many need to take a toilet break during a 3 set match.

Its always a farce when players take one after the first set of a match.

Obviously though there is no way to stop or regulate it.

[bobito]

Originally Posted by Third Mall

Some things are absolutely necessary in tennis, and a bathroom break (without penalty) is definitely one of them. Limit when you can take them by all means, but to penalise players for them is out of the question. Same with MTOs.

They didn't used to allow them and you didn't get puddles all over the court.

[paul_masterton]

Yeah you can't MTO for cramp until the change of ends.

The rules were changed so you can only take an MTO at a change of ends I believe, which is why you can't do it before the players serve. You need to keep going to the change of ends (unless its majorly serious like you tear your acl or something)

[Third Mall]

Originally Posted by bobito

They didn't used to allow them and you didn't get puddles all over the court.

Why did they start allowing them, then?

The point is that there is always a possibility they will be needed.

[marco burini]

I'm ok with actual rules

[edificio]

They rules as they stand are fine.

[cowsonice]

This thread is just a reaction to one noteworthy abuse to the MTO rule. This should be more of MTF's issue to argue.

[dencod16]

The rules are fine, but they need to be stricter. Like if its a fake injury, if the person takes it in the changeover, she/he should be docked a point every 20 seconds that went over the 90 seconds allotted for the changeover.

[coolfish1103]

Allow bathroom breaks, as many.

Allow MTO (even for cramps), as many.

The moment it went over the changeover time, 90 seconds or 2 minutes...

Every minute = 1 point to your opponent

You can either get those done before match begins, take those penalties during the game, or get it sorted after the game.

[Volcana]

Actually, the idea of having to give up a game to take a medical timeout has merit. If it's a genuine injury, it's a game you would have lost if you didn't take the time out anyway. The fact that there is NO cost to taking an MTO is what allows abuses of the system.

[Rollo]

I'd vote for no medical timeouts at all. Play or default-period.

What would be nice to counter that is a 10 minute break if they split sets. That gives the ladies a nice break, cuts out the gamesmanship, and lets TV pause for a break or let them build up the third set.

[StoneRose]

Maybe no MTO for cramp (you can't get MTO for cramp iirc?) and retape. But i don't think so. Cure's probably worse than the disease. In the end how bad is even a tactical MTO? Sure it's gamesmanship and yes a player can lose rhythm because of this, going for a tactical MTO is certainly not a nice thing to do. But players should be level headed enough to deal with these sort of things, Sloane dealt with it in the Vika match as she said herself.

Alternatives are probably worse. If someone in a tense match suddenly can't play anymore and has to retire, because of whichever new rule, that would be much more bitter also for the spectators than dealing with the gamesmanship.

Tactical MTO's are not pleasant but i think the drama surrounding them is a bit exaggerated, certainly on TF.

[Vincey!]

Yes I think so. I at least think a player shouldn't be allowed to take a 10 minutes MTO in between games. They should only be able to have one during the change over. If it'd be a new injury or an old one that got worse they should only be allowed to have their injury assessed by the trainer and the trainer decides (according to strict rules) whether they can wait for the changeover for the MTO or if they absolutely need it right now. Basically unless it's dangerous the trainer should wait for the next change over. At least it would prevent to take a 5 or 10 minutes break in a time that you're not even supposed to sit down.

It's rather ridiculous to have a MTO for cramps, I mean there's nothing much a trainer can do beside buying time when it implies to a cramp. Massages don't do much, only times and good hydration work.

I do think that the players will find a way to go around those rules no matter what changes are made tho. Any changes to the MTO rules will need to be strictly followed by the trainer, umpires and doctors. Which might be tough, at least at the beginning. Just look at how long it took for the umpires to finally start to apply the basic rules of the challenges system.