Sometimes nature calls, and as French tennis pro Arthur Gea learned the hard way, it just doesn’t care how many people are watching.
Gea, 21, had to pause the first set of his French Open debut on Sunday, May 24, when he realized he couldn’t wait anymore. Down 4-2 to Karen Khachanov, Gea asked the chair umpire for a break.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” cameras caught him pleading in French, according to the Associated Press. “I can’t move anymore. I’m going to (go) on the court.”
Video shared by TNT Sports also captured the athlete saying in English, “I cannot wait… it’s not a joke.”
Though his pleas were initially denied, the match was ultimately delayed for around three minutes while Gea relieved himself, presumably in the nick of time. According to the Association of Tennis Professionals’ rules, three minutes is the maximum amount of time a player can spend on a bathroom break during a match. They are also allowed only one per match.
Gea went on to lose in three sets.
He later revealed that he was eventually granted the bathroom break — which typically only comes between sets — due to “medical circumstances” and that he was also given medicine to help settle his stomach. He also admitted that he had fallen ill the night before.
“During the match it was even worse,” he said. “I had to go to the toilet really quick.”
Gea added that the heat at Roland Garros didn’t help his condition.
“I was feeling really, really bad this morning in particular. But during the match was even worse because it was a bit hot and I had to go to the toilet really quick and they didn’t allow it,” he said in a press conference. “I was asking the referee because I was feeling really, really bad and then the doctor came and obviously I could go out and it was not so long.”
After he lightened his load, Gea said, “I was feeling a bit better but it was still really bad. It was really, really hard physically with my health.”
Gea turned pro in 2023 and was the 135th-ranked player in the world when the match began. Khachanov, 30, advanced to take on Marco Trungelliti in the second round and expressed his sympathy for Gea’s situation after the match.
“I think it’s more a question about the rules — when you can leave the court and when you can’t,” he said in his press conference. “But as a human being, I understand him, because sometimes you can have that desperate need. What can you do? You just accept it and wait for him. Honestly, I felt bad for the guy.”
