In a dramatic turn of events, Ekaterina Alexandrova collapsed during the third set of her WTA Tour match against Kristina Liutova at the Memphis Tennis Classic. With the temperature soaring to 34 degrees Celsius, Alexandrova, the top seed, was trailing 5-4 when the match was halted for an extended medical treatment.
Unfortunately, she was unable to continue, resulting in her retirement and handing 16-year-old Liutova a victory in her debut WTA Tour match. Liutova was overcome with emotion as she secured her place in the next round, where she will face American player Maya Joint. The incident has sparked concern, and Sky Sports News has reached out to the WTA for a statement.
In other news, Venus Williams suffered a first-round exit at the WTA Mudabala DC Open in Washington, losing 6-3 6-3 to Anastasia Potapova. This marked her ninth consecutive singles loss this year and 12th straight loss since her win at the same tournament last year. Potapova, who claimed her first win in Washington DC, will now face Williams' doubles partner and fourth seed Diana Shnaider in the second round. Meanwhile, Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world No 1 Leyton Hewitt, made a remarkable debut on the ATP Tour, winning his first match at the Mubadala DC Open against Marcos Giron 6-3 6-4.
Born in 2008, Cruz Hewitt becomes the youngest player to win a match at the DC Open since Kei Nishikori in 2007. As a result, he has jumped 255 places in the rankings, from No 612 to No 357, and will face either world No 6 Alex de Minaur or world No 51 Stefanos Tsitsipas in his next match.