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After her 10-minute reprieve — six minutes of it off the court — Azarenka closed out a 6-1, 6-4 victory. A sport that in recent years has dealt with loudly grunting players and accusations of match fixing is now facing another vexation: determining what constitutes a real injury.

Azarenka's opponent, Sloane Stephens of the United States, called injury timeouts — legitimate or not — "the in thing," noting that Azarenka was one of many recent opponents to use a medical timeout. "It's trendy," Stephens said.

Others were more critical. "I thought it was a little unfair play," said David Nainkin, Stephens's coach. "I thought she bent the rules. I don't think she broke the rules, but she bent them, and I think those rules need to be looked at because I think there's a gray area there."

The TV analyst Patrick McEnroe called the timeout an "absolute travesty" in a post on his Twitter page. (McEnroe also heads the United States Tennis Association's player development program, which has supported Stephens.)

"I mean, everybody's appalled by it," said Pam Shriver, an analyst and a former player.

The controversy arose when Azarenka, serving for the match against the 29th-seeded Stephens at 5-3 in the second set, failed to convert on five match points and was eventually broken. When she took her seat during the changeover, she wrapped a towel stuffed with ice around her neck and was examined by the primary health care provider for the women's tour, Victoria Simpson, and by a tournament doctor, Tim Wood. She then left the court for further treatment, leaving Stephens, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, waiting nearly 10 minutes for the next game.

Stephens, who had upset the tournament favorite, Serena Williams, in the quarterfinals, proceeded to lose her serve and the match. She did not blame Azarenka's timeout for her loss.

Azarenka did not mention an injury during her on-court interview after the match, but she did refer to a feeling of crisis at the 5-4 changeover. "I almost did the choke of the year," she said. "I just felt a little bit overwhelmed. I realized I'm one step away from the final, and nerves got into me, for sure."

Azarenka added: "I love to play here and I just couldn't lose. That's why I was so upset."

Later, in a news conference, she said that she left the court for treatment of a rib injury and that she had not mentioned the injury in her on-court interview because she had misunderstood the question.

Shriver, who noted that Azarenka had also not mentioned the injury in an ESPN interview while coming off the court, was skeptical.

"I think her response at the time was very honest and truthful, that she was stretching the rules," Shriver said. "That was my reaction coming off the interview and so that's why I think all of us, many of us, jumped on it. Because we've seen the rule abused for years. I abused the rule when I played."

If Azarenka was not legitimately injured, was calling a medical timeout cheating? Playing at the edge of the rules? Good old win-at-any-cost strategy?

To Michael F. Bergeron, executive director of the National Youth Sports Health & Safety Institute, it is part of a disturbing trend that has taken hold in youth sports, emphasizing winning over sportsmanship and developing character.

"I'm not saying everyone does that, and I'd like to think there are still players who would never do it," Bergeron said. "It shows a lack of character, a lack of respect for her opponent and the game. You'd like to think sports would be developing those traits. But in the bigger picture, this emphasis on winning and losing over everything else is doing athletes a disservice. It's not making them better people. It's not making them better athletes."