World number 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova collapsed on court and was forced to retire from her first-round match at the Memphis Classic as temperatures soared to 34C on Tuesday.
The Russian, who was the top seed in the inaugural WTA 250 event in Tennessee, was trailing 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 5-4 against 16-year-old compatriot Kristina Liutova when she fell to the ground in distress. The 31-year-old had been struggling with the extreme heat throughout the third set, receiving a time violation for taking too long to serve before eventually calling for medical attention.
Alexandrova was able to stand after receiving treatment but could not continue, forfeiting a match that had lasted more than three hours. She was subsequently helped off court in a wheelchair.
The retirement handed Liutova victory in her debut WTA main-draw match, but the teenager was left in tears on court amid the distressing scenes. The 16-year-old, ranked 229th in the world, had qualified for the main draw by defeating compatriot Maria Kozyreva before benefiting from Alexandrova's collapse.
Liutova will now face Maya Joint in the second round of the Memphis Classic, which replaced the Tennis in the Land event in Cleveland on the WTA calendar this season.
The incident has reignited debate about playing conditions in summer tournaments, with players across several events suffering from extreme temperatures. Elsewhere on Tuesday, Venus Williams lost her first-round match at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC, beaten 6-3 6-3 by Anastasia Potapova.
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