Top seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was forced to retire from her opening match at the Memphis Classic after collapsing on court. Playing in intense 34C heat, the world number 19 was locked in a grueling battle against 16-year-old Kristina Liutova when the incident occurred.
Alexandrova, trailing 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 5-4, had been struggling for some time, even receiving a time violation for a slow serve before her condition deteriorated. She eventually fell to the ground during a rally, requiring urgent medical care. Although the 31-year-old was able to stand afterward, she was carried away in a wheelchair and had to withdraw from the three-hour contest. The match result marked a difficult professional debut for Liutova.
In other tennis news, Venus Williams was eliminated in the first round of the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC. The 46-year-old fell 6-3 6-3 to Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, struggling significantly on her second serve and return points.
