The 2026 French Open had another marathon match today, with Naomi Osaka surviving a three-hour battle to defeat 18-year-old American Iva Jovic 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4. However, during the match, there was a confusing exchange between Jovic and the chair umpire regarding the strict, often controversial rules on toilet and attire breaks.
Iva Jovic Questions Umpire Over Attire Change and Bathroom Rules Under Threat of Penalty
As the match stretched closer to the three-hour mark in the Parisian heat, Jovic asked permission to leave the court for a second time to change her clothes. This led to a back-and-forth with the chair umpire over the tournament’s time violation rules.
Here is how the interaction played out:
Jovic: “Can I change my clothes again?”
Umpire: “Well, you have to be back before her [Osaka]. You are on your own time. If you are back after her and the court is ready, then it’s a back-to-back time violation.”
Jovic: “I’m not allowed to change twice? So can I go to the normal bathroom?”
Umpire: “It’s the same thing. You have to be back before her.”
Can I change my clothes? Can I go to the bathroom? Iva Jovic trying to work out how much time she has in the break 😬
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The umpire’s strict warning left the American teenager visibly frustrated. But it also highlighted a technicality in the Grand Slam rulebook that is rarely explained on live television.
As per the ITF Tennis Rulebook, each player in a women’s singles match is entitled to a maximum of one authorized break per match. This break can be used for going to the bathroom (limited to 3 minutes), changing attire (limited to 5 minutes), or both simultaneously (limited to 5 minutes).
Here, Jovic had already changed her attire and wanted to use the bathroom break. Here, the chair umpire believed they didn’t have enough time for a bathroom break. And as the umpire warned Jovic, any additional breaks are heavily penalized if the player delays the match. Jovic could leave the court again, but if Osaka was ready to play before Jovic returned, she would face an immediate warning and a point penalty.
Now comes the history of the double standard. Male players have been allowed to change their sweat-soaked shirts on the court. Legends like Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic used to sit shirtless during changeovers as well to cool down in the heat without any threat of a time or code violation.
In stark contrast, female players have faced intense scrutiny for doing the same. The most infamous example happened at the 2018 US Open involving French player Alizé Cornet:
During the first-round match against Johanna Larsson, after returning to the court from a heat break, Cornet realized her shirt was on backward. She quickly took it off behind the baseline to turn it around, briefly exposing a sports bra. The chair umpire immediately hit her with a code violation for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
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The penalty sparked backlash from fans and her fellow players, pointing out the blatant sexism. The USTA eventually issued a public apology, clarifying that female players may change their shirts while seated in their player chairs without penalty. And now, Jovic’s case proves that a rule updation is required.
Despite the confusing off-court drama, Jovic lost to Osaka. The four-time Grand Slam champion is entering the second week in Paris for the very first time in her career. The Japanese once again dazzled the Paris crowd in her custom gold tennis dress, and now awaits the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round.
