‘Don’t Care if It’s a Serious Injury’ – Félix Auger-Aliassime’s Opponent Angers Gilbert After Wimbledon Fiasco

Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, shared his criticism of a rule in tennis that has come under intense scrutiny following Félix Auger-Aliassime’s fourth-round clash against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.

Gilbert believes the rule permitting players to take a medical timeout on their opponent’s serve needs to be revised immediately.

Brad Gilbert Blasts Medical Timeout Rule After Félix Auger-Aliassime-Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Thriller

Auger-Aliassime and Fokina played out a five-set thriller at Wimbledon on Sunday, with the Canadian claiming a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1 win over the Spaniard.

Controversy arose in the fourth set, when Fokina took a medical timeout as his opponent served for the match. However, he quickly recovered and returned to break serve as Auger-Aliassime hit a double fault at a crucial juncture. The change in momentum allowed Fokina to win the fourth set and force a decider.

The two were also involved in a heated on-court argument after the match, following the incident. Auger-Aliassime later called the rule a “disgrace” and called for it to be changed. Gilbert, who has coached some of the biggest names in tennis, has now joined the conversation.

The 64-year-old called the rule one of his biggest pet peeves in tennis and criticized the fact that players are allowed to take medical timeouts on their opponent’s serve.

“A pet peeve of mine… A rule change has to be made ASAP. No medical timeouts allowed on your opponent’s serve. I don’t care if it’s a serious injury unless you forfeit the game. But these medical timeouts during the game, even if it’s on your serve, I still feel like you should forfeit the game. The umpires are afraid to do anything and we’ve allowed this rule to go on,” he said in a vlog post on X.

Auger-Aliassime ultimately prevailed in the fifth set to secure his place in the quarterfinals. There, the third seed will face Novak Djokovic in what promises to be a thrilling battle.

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There have been several incidents surrounding medical timeouts in men’s tennis this year that have left fans and players on the receiving end frustrated. At the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev was left frustrated when Carlos Alcaraz was allowed to take a timeout due to severe cramps.

Jannik Sinner also faced backlash after being allowed to take timeouts at the Italian Open and the French Open for what many claimed was general fatigue or cramping rather than a specific injury.