Distressed tennis player collapses on court in ‘terrible scene’
The tennis world has been rocked by the “terrible scene” where a star player collapsed faced forwards at the Washington Open.
China’s Wu Yibing collapsed and was helped off the court on Tuesday morning after retiring from his opening match at the Citi Open in Washington.
It was the second notable health incident in a match within a month for Wu, who needed a medical timeout after falling ill at the end of the first set in his opening-match Wimbledon loss to American Frances Tiafoe.
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On the Washington hardcourts, Wu was leading 4-1 in the first set when he made a wobbly step, went to take a seat and collapsed forward over the back of a folding chair.
Wu was helped to his feet and an umbrella was quickly brought over to provide shade.
Wu was unable to remain standing and fell over again heavily as officials tried to gently lower him to the ground.
Yibing Wu was leading Watanuki 4-1, but collapsed in Washington.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 31, 2023
He was forced to retire from the match.
This is something you never want to see.
Send him your prayers. ðð¼
pic.twitter.com/WHOEbG9cWw
Unfortunately Wu Yibing has been forced to retire, sending Yosuke Watanuki through, 1-4 RET.
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 31, 2023
Get well soon, Yibing ð#MubadalaCitiDCOpenpic.twitter.com/VzTivYXkRk
He was later assisted in walking off the court.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado wrote on Twitter the incident was a “terrible scene”.
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The mercury reached 30C in Washington on Monday, but it is not clear if the heat was the reason for Yibing’s distressing collapse.
A statement from the tournament said Wu retired due to illness. The 23-year-old from Hangzhou also played last week in Atlanta, beating France’s Corentin Moutet in his first match before losing to eventual champion Taylor Fritz, the world number nine from the United States, in the second round.
World number 90 Wu won his first ATP title in February at Dallas, becoming the first Chinese player to capture an ATP crown and China’s highest-ranked player ever, reaching 54th in the world in May.