ATP Challenger Sevilla: Disqualification – American takes a shower during the match
A ten-minute toilet break by the American Nicolas Moreno de Alboran was too long for the chair referee in the first round of the ATP Challenger tournament in Seville.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit:
Sep 11, 2022, 08:10 am
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran doesn't have it easy as a tennis pro anyway: At the age of 25, the American is "only" in position 311 in the ATP world rankings and has not pocketed more than 122,620 US dollars in prize money over his career. Under these conditions, if you are not fed by patronizing sponsors or patrons, a part-time job or private debt is almost unavoidable.
And then the North American will also be disqualified in the first round of the current ATP Challenger tournament in Seville (Spain), after he had struggled through the qualification mills and in the main draw opening duel against the Argentinian Federico, who was seeded six Delbonis was able to compensate for a set deficit (5:7, 7:6 [6]).
Showers forbidden
But what exactly happened? Moreno de Alboran took a toilet break after winning the tie-break in the second round - nothing unusual in an intense (clay) game that had already lasted 2:23 hours. However, the man from New York City only returned to the court after double the time instead of after the regular five minutes. That was too much for the chair umpire, especially since there was an explosive detail about the interruption.
Moreno de Alboran later clarified on social media: "I fell three or four times in the second set and one of those falls got sand in my underwear. I had to play with it for 30 minutes and it was rubbing so much that I was after a I had a bleeding wound for a while, so I went to the bathroom to get the sand off my feet, but I was sweating so badly that I couldn't do it with a towel alone, so I used the hand shower."
According to the regulations, a shower is not allowed during a match - how extensive this shower is is only incidental. The receipt at the end: Moreno de Alboran had to leave without having achieved anything, does not receive any world ranking points for qualifying or any prize money. So nothing but expenses and a few articles in the media.