French tennis star Terence Atmane was embroiled in a furious spat with US Open medical staff after he was refused treatment under the sport’s strict rules around cramps.
Players are unable to take medical timeouts during matches if they suffer cramps and can only seek treatment briefly during changeovers or set breaks.
But Atmane was keen to stress that he was suffering from muscular pain separate from cramping – despite having struggled with the issue earlier in his five-set battle against Jaume Munar.
Calling for the physio deep in the fifth set, Atmane became incensed that he was being misunderstood by the responding physiotherapist as they questioned why he needed a medical timeout.
‘I need treatment here, this is not cramping,’ the 24-year-old said. ‘This is pain. I have pain.
‘I’m telling you, I have pain. On both sides, before I was cramping, and now I have pain. You don’t understand? No, you don’t understand. I need treatment, I really need treatment right now.’
Terence Atmane boiled over after he was refused a medical timeout after being deemed to have suffered cramp by the physio
The Frenchman had previously been treated in a break in play but continued to struggle with ‘pain’ in the fifth set
When told that he could not be treated if he was suffering cramp, Atmane turned up the volume.
‘This was not cramp, it’s pain. It was pain,’ he raged. ‘Excuse me, can you please give me treatment, and stop acting stupid. Is it possible to have some common sense? I tell him I have pain, why is he telling me no? I have pain.’
The tournament supervisor, called onto court to attend to the issue, urged Atmane to remember that the physio was a ‘medical professional’.
‘It’s my body. I have pain on both there, so I need treatment there,’ Atmane replied, before speaking over the physio.
‘What do you mean come on man? I’m telling you I have pain on both my legs. P-A-I-N,’ Atmane spelled out. ‘Pain. Not cramp. I know the rules, that’s why I’m asking you. It’s not a cramp, it’s pain.’
Despite his protestations, Atmane was refused treatment, but was unable to take no for an answer as the physio walked away.
‘Come back, come back,’ he called. ‘What’s your credentials? I don’t know your name. No, no no, come back.’
Atmane then rounded on the umpire as he was ordered to return to play, adding: ‘I have pain, and the guy says no. I’m telling him I have pain, and the guy says no. What does it matter? I get the name after this.’
During the third set, Atmane became so badly impaired with a muscular issue that he was almost unable to move
The 24-year-old was only able to serve underarm and lost the set 6-1 after building a strong two-set lead
Earlier in the match, Atmane was suffering so severely he was forced into limited movement and underarm serving in the third set.
The Frenchman was two sets up against the Spaniard when he began to struggle, and first received medical timeout for a leg issue, before continuing to play impaired.
Munar disagreed with the decision to award Atmane a timeout, and later accused Atmane of time-wasting and receiving extra on-court coaching, calling for the supervisor to complain directly.
Atmane went on to receive a time violation for repeatedly taking too much time between points.
World No. 55 Munar complained about his opponent’s conduct again in the fifth set after Atmane’s rant, but the pair exchanged a civil – if curt – handshake after Munar beat his rival 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-5.
Speaking to Daily Mail Sport after the match, Atmane said: ‘It’s very simple. I told (the physio) I had pain on my leg after the cramp, and then he told me that that was not true, and it was cramp.
‘So I told him that what he was saying was not true because I had pain, and then he didn’t want to treat me. So then after he left, simple as that. There’s nothing I can do about it.
‘I told him it was pain and not cramp because I was cramping before and it was like different kind of pain, and he didn’t want it to treat me. So I said to him like, I mean, there’s no point to fight. So that’s it.
The drama on Court 13 throws into perspective the cloudiness which surrounds the rule, with the guidelines often criticised for inconsistent enforcement.
Cramps are classified as a fitness issue, rather than injury or illness, with many players turning to esoteric methods like drinking pickle juice on-court to stave off the dehydration often at the root of the problem.
But at this year’s Australian Open, a tussle between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev over the former’s on-court treatment turned ugly with the German accusing the tournament of not adhering to the regulations.
The Career Grand Slam winner had been badly affected by the challenging heat in Melbourne, throwing up multiple times during their semi-final.
His movement was later affected, and Alcaraz went on to request a medical timeout, which was granted.
‘He has cramps,’ Zverev told the supervisor as Alcaraz received treatment. ‘What else should it be? This is absolute bulls***.’
‘That is unbelievable. That can not be. You can not be serious,’ he continued in a mixture of German and English.
But Atmane said that he did not advocate for a change in the regulations, despite his experience on Sunday.
‘I think that’s fair that we cannot receive treatment when we have cramps,’ Atmane added. ‘I feel like it has always been like this, so I don’t see why it should change.
‘Even if today I was fully cramping, I never asked for the physio at that time. I feel like rules are rules, and we should respect them. It was a little bit unfortunate that he didn’t wanted to treat the problem that I had, but it is what it is. At the end of the day, I lost, and it happened.’
