Jo Konta’s distress was clear but 22-minute break highlights glaring problem in tennis

For 22 minutes bang in the middle of one of her biggest matches of the year, Tsvetana Pironkova was deprived of hitting a single groundstroke. First the chair umpire directed her to her seat, where she alternated between gazing across the net and sharing quizzical looks with her support team in the stands. Then, once the break in play crossed the 10-minute mark and Pironkova’s muscles began to cool in her chair, she rose to keep herself moving. For 10 more minutes, the Bulgarian hit limp practice serves to nobody, she jogged on the spot and she closed her eyes, all in a futile attempt to retain her focus and intensity in a situation that had taken it all away.

The listless calm of Pironkova’s side of the court was an antidote to the panic unfolding across the net. As Johanna Konta stepped up to hit a second serve up 6-2 but down 5-6 and set point, the Brit felt her legs wobble beneath her. Within seconds, she was holding herself up by hands and knees as she hyperventilated into the ground. Downed by the New York humidity, Konta remained in distress for almost 10 minutes, eventually lying on her back as ice packs were scattered across her darkened red body.

“I was feeling a little bit the conditions, and also, you know, my own energy levels,” Konta explained. “Basically my heart rate spiked and I couldn't really control my breathing. I started hyperventilating. I started shaking.”

The moment of contention arrived moments later. After finishing her long 13 minutes of emergency treatment and gingerly taking her first steps back to the baseline, the Brit was in no shape to compete. Her missed serve sent the match straight into a third set, to which she responded by promptly grabbing a sack of clothes and marching off the court, extending her break to 22 minutes.

Pironkova didn’t touch a groundstroke for 10 minutes, so it was quite predictable that when she finally returned to the baseline to start the third set, she promptly hit three bad errors in four points and quickly lost her serve. While, in the face of grave adversity, Konta’s fight or flight mechanisms drew on the Brit’s considerable mental fortitude, Pironkova simply flatlined. The effort was apparent, but she couldn’t raise her intensity after an eternity of being stationary and the final set quickly flitted in only one direction.

"Obviously some players use them to refocus,” said Pironkova afterwards. “I don't think they should be used that way. With that toilet break, I think the match was stopped for just too long. It was unfortunate. I had my momentum going, I was getting back in the match."

Konta’s explanation of her decision to take the bathroom break was simple and convincing, as she explained the unfortunate timing of her collapse and the break between sets belied her need to change her sweat-soaked clothes. But the optics of the events on court 13 were painful as it was an occurrence that struck at the heart of one of the endless problems in both factions of tennis, where players constantly look to see how far the rules can be pushed. Medical timeouts and bathroom breaks have long since been used to cynically and successfully break an opponent’s momentum or simply for a player to take a moment to breathe, even though they shouldn’t.

It happens in both men’s and women’s tennis, from top to bottom, and with players both actively and passively pushing the envelope. At the French Open just this year, German veteran Tatjana Maria calmly laid out her intention to sue the International Tennis Federation after her opponent, Alizé Cornet, destroyed her rhythm while receiving lengthy treatment for cramps, a practice forbidden by the ITF Grand Slam Rules. Meanwhile, just two weeks ago in the Rio Olympics Bronze medal match, Kei Nishikori became persona non grata for Rafael Nadal and most Spanish people after the Japanese star’s bathroom break crossed the 10-minute mark.

It is typical of tennis’ chronic inability and unwillingness to modernise and address its clear problems that, in the years since this issue has reared its ugly head, the sport hasn’t even considered steps to rectify a glaring problem that affects the image of the sport as well as its players. With all its niche qualities which inherently keep the sport distant from the common denominator sports fan, these events only further darken the image of the sport. Quite simply, the second a casual viewer is made to wait over 5 minutes for a cynical bathroom break, they are going to flick over to another channel, and they very likely won’t come back.

Corrections are certainly tricky. Where can the line between acceptable and unacceptable bathroom breaks even be drawn? Any suggestion that rules should have allowed the umpire to deny Konta the right to change clothes is clearly problematic, considering this specific event was mainly contentious because of the timing of Konta’s collapse on set point. Konta can’t be forced to play in soaking clothes. However, it’s clear that the time penalty for rare instances of unauthorised breaks that don’t occur between sets can be enforced. Konta would be free to change her clothes, but if she crosses a certain time threshold, she would forfeit points and games until she returns.

Regardless, the only sure fact is that Britain’s number one is through to the third round and will face the endlessly talented teenager Belinda Bencic for a spot in the second week. As Konta chases a top-10 spot, her victory was significant as it means that she is a win shy of defending the points she acquired when she made her definitive breakthrough last year by reaching the fourth round in New York.

In the 52 weeks that have seen Konta piece together a career-best year, the only major mis-step arrived in Montreal last month when she stood one match away from crossing the top 10 against world number 121 Kristina Kucova, only to pitifully concede a match she should have won. On Wednesday, she paid her dues by keeping alive the hopes of being able to soon call herself one of the 10 best tennis players in the world by winning in distress, capturing a match she really shouldn’t have won.