A French tennis player had to abruptly leave the courts of Roland Garros for an emergency toilet break, telling a startled umpire: “I’m going to s*** myself.”
Arthur Gea was making his debut appearance in the main draw of the clay-court Slam in Paris.
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What a moment it was for the 21-year-old, especially as he was first up on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, one of the main show courts, against No13 seed Karen Khachanov.
Yet on a hot opening day of the tournament, Gea struggled with the conditions.
Whether it was nerves or not, Gea suddenly felt unwell and was worried about making a mess of himself and the red surroundings.
At 4-1 down, he was heard speaking in French to the umpire John Blom.
The world No135 approached the Australian official and said: “Do you speak French?
“I’ve got the s***s. I need to go to the bathroom.
“I can’t move anymore, I’m going to s*** on the court.”
Gea lost the first set 6-3 in 53 minutes with his hopes of progressing at risk of going down the pan too.
Gea – who was 4-0 down at one point in his first match – spoke to the official and doctor during the sixth game.
When Khachanov hit a forehand long to concede game six, Gea raced off court, left his racquet by an advertising board and then sprinted to the loo.
Players are not usually allowed to leave the court after even-numbered games.
The tournament is set to be hit by high temperatures over the first few days in the French capital.
There is a heatwave across most of Europe and the weather could have a serious impact on performances and progressions.
Khachanov went on to beat the French wildcard 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-0 in the first round.
He controlled the first set and kept Gea under pressure.
Gea then raised his level in the second set and made it much tighter, forcing a tie-break, but Khachanov was stronger in the key points and took it 7-3.
After that, the match ran away from Gea as his opponent dominated the third set, winning it 6-0, and finished the match in 2 hours 38 minutes.
