A 28-year-old tennis star has been hospitalised after collapsing during his semi-final at an ITF tournament in Tunisia.
Turkish player Altug Celikbilek was unable to continue the match against Yanki Erel and it went down as a retirement after one game.
It was later reported that Celikbilek suffered a brain haemorrhage on court.
Medics intervened when the world No. 451 collapsed after playing the first game of his match.
According to Corriere Dello Sport, Celikbilek suffered a brain hemorrhage and was rushed to hospital. He is being evaluated for transportation to Turkey for surgery.
The Turkish Tennis Federation has confirmed that Celikbilek is being “closely monitored” after an alarming incident in Monastir.
In a statement, they said: “The health condition of our national athlete Altug Celikbilek, who fell ill during a match at the M15 Monastir tournament held in Tunisia, is being closely monitored by our Federation and the Tunisian Embassy, and all necessary support is being provided to our athlete and his family. We wish our athlete a speedy recovery.”
Retired Turkish player Ipek Senoglu has also been providing updates on social media.
“Send your prayers and energy to @altugcelikbilek he underwent surgery after the brain hemorrhage he had in the past and the scan came back clean, but it is critical how he will wake up now. enka, his family and friends are with him,” she wrote on Sunday.
Senoglu provided another update on Monday, tweeting: “This morning the doctor examined Altug, gave him good news and now his mother is inside, they are talking a little bit.
“He has different tests and check-ups today, hopefully good news will come from them as well.”
Celikbilek was the top seed at the M15 event in Monastir. He was facing one of his compatriots, Erel, in the semi-final. Erel went on to lift the trophy and dedicated his victory to Celikbilek.
Celikbilek is a former world No. 154 who has three Challenger titles under his belt. He’s also claimed six ITF trophies and even won another tournament in Monastir in September.
The 28-year-old has competed in the qualifying rounds at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
