French Tennis Star Arthur Gea Has Bathroom Emergency During Match

Arthur Gea had more than his opponent to worry about at the French Open over the weekend ... because the dude suffered a full-blown bathroom emergency in the middle of his match and had to sprint off the court ASAP.

The French tennis star was making his French Open debut against Karen Khachanov Sunday when he suddenly stopped playing and pleaded with the chair umpire for an emergency bathroom break.

"I need to go to the bathroom. I can't move anymore," Gea said before rushing off court. At one point, he even warned ... "I'm going to (go) on the court."

Gea was trailing 4-2 in the opening set when the match was paused. Khachanov appeared frustrated as officials tried sorting things out while the French player disappeared into the locker room.

However -- we imagine Khachanov he would have been more frustrated if Gea really did "go" on the court and didn't do his business in private ... call it his Civic Doody.

Under ATP rules, players are only allowed one bathroom break per match during a set break but Gea later said he was granted special permission because of medical circumstances after dealing with severe sphincter-squeezing stomach pain.

Despite the emergency pit stop, Gea couldn't recover with Khachanov winning in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-0.

After the match, Gea explained he woke up feeling sick and said the brutal Paris heat made things even worse.

Temperatures reportedly climbed close to 90 degrees during the match ... with fans in the stands fanning themselves while players struggled through the heat.