Suffering cramps is a common occurrence in elite sport – being left lying in pain to suffer with it certainly isn’t.
Yet that was the fate of Shuzo Matsuoka back in 1995, provoking a change to the rules of tennis after boos rained down over his US Open treatment.
The Japanese talent was kicking off his first round at New York shortly after a career best Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon that same year.
On top of that, he was taking on the extremely enigmatic Petr Korda, a future world No.2 who was capable of absolute magic and also complete no-shows, making this a must-watch for the purists.
The match lived up to expectations too – at least for the first three sets – which all went to tie-breaks and Matsuoka was 2-1 up.
Yet with the pair about to stage another tie break for the fourth, Matsuoka hit the deck, screaming in agony, but shockingly, no one could touch him.
Rules at the time stated that cramp was not an injury but a result of ‘poor conditioning’ leaving Matsuoka writhing around with both legs spasming.
Both he and his team knew that any assistance would result in a match default, but that ended up being the case anyway as the umpire began calling out time violations and eventually that default amid a chorus of boos.
Medics ran on with ice and began messaging his legs, and the defeated Matsuoka told the media after: “When I hit the forehand, [I was] just cramping very bad.
“I fell down and all I can do is scream and I was in so much pain, I know [the] match is finished, but I was very sad.
“If I bent my leg, I knew the cramp was coming, and then every time I hit the ball it came, and it was scary, but this is the U.S. Open, and I’m winning, and I have to keep going.”
Eventually, realisation set in as he admitted: “I knew I was not going to be able to play anymore.”
Korda was sympathetic after his win, especially as the scoreline previously had Matsuoka ahead before defaulting at 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (7-4), 6-7 (10-8), 6-5.
“He was in tremendous pain because he had a big spasm in both legs,” said Korda.
“Rules are rules, and it’s pretty sad that no one can help him.”
Thankfully for future cramp sufferers, those rules didn’t last much longer as cramp became a treatable injury, even though Matsuoka disagreed.
“I think it is the right rule. I think they shouldn’t touch it,” he said after his ordeal.
“Cramping is one thing, you have to work out and you have to be more fit and cramping is different than pulling a muscle, so I think it is just a rule and I think I agree with the rule.”
Despite Korda’s sympathy, Matsuoka wasn’t alone in disagreeing with the rule change, as it became more and more criticised through the 2000s amid a perception it was being abused to waste time.
Former World No.1 Lleyton Hewitt would later comment: “Cramp is an interesting one because it’s a lack of condition.
“In tennis, every player knows what they’ve got to do and for those players that don’t want to take short cuts and who do all the hard work, there’s got to be some bonus out there for them.
“Obviously there was the episode years ago, with Matsuoka at the US Open and that’s what changed it all.”
His countryman Andy Roddick agreed, adding: “If someone is getting treated for cramps for 12 minutes and then you have to come out and serve, you’re the one who’s getting cold.
“I just felt like it lent itself to gamesmanship sometimes. It’s something we could probably do without.”
Matsuoka continued with his view too, speaking as a pundit and adding more detail on why his case was such a bad one.
“I had a bad knee so I was always playing on one leg,” he explained.
“The cramps were because of me but the rules meant that no one could touch me. They changed the rules after my US Open match.
“Today players call trainers even when they are not cramping. They show as if their leg or back is hurting and the trainer comes out and within five minutes they are blasting winners.
“That’s not possible. They take it for the purpose of strategy. I don’t feel too comfortable about it.”
Their voices were heard in 2008 when the rule was adjusted so that cramp treatment could only be administered during changeovers.
The cramps, or gamesmanship as Roddick put it, soon disappeared, but there have still been victims of the painful ailment.
Carlos Alcaraz was forced to forfeit a 2023 Roland Garros semi-final against Novak Djokovic as he couldn’t wait for a changeover, and there have been a smattering of similar examples.
None have been anything compared to Matsuoka, though, with the screams on that New York afternoon turning out to be so unique that thankfully they were never heard again.