Italian Open organizers asked to ‘remove’ rule after Daniil Medvedev’s complaint about Jannik Sinner
The ATP Tour has been asked to make a quick rule change at the Italian Open after Daniil Medvedev raised a concern about Jannik Sinner. During their semi-final match on Friday night, Sinner was leading 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 when rain stopped the game.
Before the break, Sinner, playing in front of his home fans, called for a medical timeout because he seemed to be struggling physically throughout much of the match. He was treated for a thigh issue, but Medvedev wasn’t happy and told the umpire how he felt. “When we call the physio for cramps, we don’t get fined?” he asked in French.
According to ATP rules, players can’t ask for medical timeouts if they are just having cramps. However, some worry players might say they’re injured to get around this rule. Players are allowed to get treatment for cramps during changeovers or set breaks.
The rules say that when it’s unclear if a player’s problem is an urgent medical issue, cramps, or a non-treatable condition, the physio and the tournament doctor make the final call. Also, players can have up to two full treatments for cramps in a match, not necessarily back to back.
The word “unclear” in the rule has led tennis expert Gil Gross to suggest the ATP rethink this rule. On his YouTube channel, Gross explained that Medvedev was upset because he felt Sinner was just cramping. He said, “This rule is impossible to enforce. It’s never really enforced. There’s so much room for players to say, ‘My leg hurts.’ It happened in a previous match too. Whether or not he’s cramping, the rule should be changed. There’s just too much guesswork. If I were Daniil, I’d feel the same.”
The semi-final will continue on Saturday, and it means a lot for Medvedev, who hasn’t won an ATP 1000 final since this tournament last year. Sinner, on the other hand, has won the last five ATP 1000 events—setting a new record.
The Italian Open is the last big event before the French Open starts next week at Roland Garros. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is out due to injury, making Sinner the favorite to win the tournament for the first time.