BBC pundit and former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has criticised American tennis player Zachary Svajda for allegedly abusing the sport's medical timeout rules during his third-round defeat to fifth seed Alex de Minaur at Wimbledon. Svajda, making his main draw debut at the All England Club, called for a physio after falling two breaks down in the third set, citing issues with his hamstring and adductor area. He received lengthy treatment before resuming the match, which he ultimately lost 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 on Court Three.
Cash's Objection to the Timeout
Speaking on BBC commentary, Cash argued that Svajda's timeout was not justified by a genuine injury but rather by fatigue. 'Personally, I am against this medical timeout unless you've done an injury,' Cash said. 'Because this is loss of condition, this is muscles getting tired, and you're not supposed to have a medical timeout for that. I am so against this, the doctors need to stand up and go, no, this is not an injury.'
Cash proposed stricter rules: 'Here's what the rule should be: anything beyond the fourth set in the men's, unless you twist your ankle or roll something or run into the net post or whatever, you shouldn't get a MTO. As simple as that. Because it's tiring, you get tired. The doctor should come up and go, 'Guess what, you've just been playing three hours. You're tired. Your muscles are tired. Move on. Play on.''
Response from Fellow Commentator
Fellow commentator Todd Woodbridge responded to Cash's passionate rant by saying, 'He's a tough man, folks. Pat Cash.' However, Cash pushed back, stating, 'No, because this changes the momentum of the game and it's against the rules.'
Current Medical Timeout Rules
According to the Grand Slam rulebook, a medical timeout is limited to three minutes of treatment, and a player is allowed one timeout per distinct treatable medical condition. Muscle cramping is explicitly not a valid reason for a medical timeout; players may only receive treatment for cramping during changeovers or set breaks. All clinical manifestations of heat illness are considered one condition, and treatable musculoskeletal injuries that form part of a kinetic chain continuum are also treated as a single condition.
Cash Also Criticises Ball Toss Rules
In addition to medical timeouts, Cash urged governing bodies to change rules around ball tosses, which currently allow players to catch the ball and restart their serve if the toss is poor. 'The ball tosses are the other mysterious one for me, it's absolutely ridiculous,' Cash fumed. 'You've started the point, the shot clock has gone off, the ball is in the air and in play and yet you're allowed to catch. These are no-brainers, but the tennis associations and all the governing bodies can't come to an understanding. It needs someone in the ITF to say, 'right, in Grand Slams this is what we're doing'. No more throwing the ball up in the air and catching it. As soon as you hit the pro level, once you throw the ball in the air, the point starts.'
