Picture Credit: Twitter
The sport of tennis saw an alarming incident when a 23-year-old Chinese player collapsed during the ongoing Citi Open 2023 in Washington. The 23-year-old from China collapsed on the opening day of the tournament during his Round 1 match against Japan's Yosuke Watanuki on Court 5. Notably, this incident comes just days after the young star player suffered a similar collapse during his 2023 Wimbledon opener against Frances Tiafoe.
The incident on Monday took place after the fifth game with the Chinese leading 4-1 at that point of time. As soon as he headed towards the chair, he lost balance and fell in front of the ball boys while facing towards the wall of the court. Two officials on the court immediately rushed towards the player to help him stand and balance his body while they check on him.
Watch the video here:
However, moments later he was eventually forced to retire with his opponent Watanuki progressing into the second round of the tournament in Washington. Talking about the last time he sustained a similar collapse was during the recently concluded Wimbledon 2023. The 23-year-old reportedly suffered breathing issues and was taken off the court for a checkup. However, he was later deemed fit and returned to resume the match, losing 6-7, 3-6, 4-6 to Frances Tiafoe.
Fans show signs of worry after second such incident
This incident has since then gone viral on the internet. While some said it was because of the COVID-19 vaccine, a few others called out authorities seeing players play in intense heat.
Check out the reactions here:
