Tennis starlet Jakub Mensik was left stunned after being asked to take a drugs test midway through his match.
The bizarre scene unfolded at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, with the Czech youngster taking on Frenchman Arthur Fils in his second group stage match.
Having lost his opening game at the year-end tournament for the world’s eight highest-ranked men’s players aged 20 and under, Mensik was in desperate need of a result against the top seed.
But he found himself two sets down to top seed Fils, falling behind 2-4, 3-4 (4), and requested a toilet break at the end of the second set.
Minutes later however, Mensik returned to the court visibly perplexed, as he told umpire Noacho Forcadell that he had been asked to undergo an anti-doping test during this time.
The 19-year-old looked animated as he complained about the recent events to the Spanish official, flailing his arms before throwing his towel in anger onto his chair.
Though the pair’s exact conversation is unclear, Forcadell seemed baffled, and was heard saying to Mensik: “You’re right.”
With drugs tests usually performed before or after matches, or between tournaments, the umpire was clearly unimpressed by this, and then radioed a colleague to explain the situation.
He said: “Someone from anti-doping in the middle of the toilet break wanted to test him now, and that delayed everything.
“So if you could talk to them – that should not happen.”
Play eventually resumed after the delay, with Fils claiming the final set 4-2 to seal victory.
But it was Mensik’s bizarre encounter midway through the match which was the major talking point afterwards.
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Several fans took to X to criticise what the world number 48 was subjected to.
One wrote: “Actually ridiculous, come on.”
Another questioned whether the timing of the in-game intervention was legal, and said they would be consulting the International Tennis Integrity Agency’s rulebook.
They said: “I will need to read the ITIA rules on this one, seems very bizarre and unnecessary when it can be done before or after the match.”
US tennis player Christopher Eubanks has been working as an analyst for Tennis Channel’s coverage of the tournament, and admitted that an official was likely unaware of the guidelines here.
The former world number 29 said: “Well, as long as you’re not in the course of a match, yes they can [ask players to undergo anti-doping tests]. That’s what whereabouts is about.
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“But to come up to a player during a toilet break in the midst of a match and say: ‘Hey, you have a doping test’, I think it just came down to somebody didn’t understand the rules.”
Defeat for Mensik means that he now faces an uphill task to reach the tournament’s knockout stage.
He faces Brazilian world number 145 Joao Fonseca in his final group match, who has won each of his opening two matches in Jeddah.
An early exit would certainly be a disappointment for the rising star, who reached the third round of the US Open in September, and spoke of his excitement ahead of this week’s tournament.
He told the ATP Tour: “It was one of my biggest goals to reach this event before the season.
“I’m glad to be here. So far it’s amazing, the facilities and everything that they did for us. You can feel really that you’re one of the best younger players in the world.
“I never have expectations. Obviously just to enjoy this beautiful tournament. Of course I would be happy to win a couple of matches and of course I’m going here to win it.”