Tennis player Alex Zverev fell to the ground in pain after suffering an injury at the French Open semi-finals Friday.
Zverev and Rafael Nadal were facing off in the highly anticipated match when Zverev reached for a forehand. As his foot made contact with the ground, his ankle rolled, seemingly shifting the entire weight of his body over it, video posted on YouTube by the Tennis Channel showed. He fell to the ground in what appeared to be agonizing pain.
Zverev screamed in pain and immediately grabbed his ankle, according to the footage. His facial expression revealed the excruciating pain he was feeling as his body crashed to the ground. The tennis pro’s clothing, arms and legs became covered in clay after he continued to roll around in pain.
Medical professionals rushed to Zverev’s aid and brought him a wheelchair, and Nadal made his way around the net to check on the status of his opponent, according to the New York Post. Zverev was in tears while medical staff examined his injury in the training room, Nadal later revealed, the outlet reported. (RELATED: REPORT: Michigan Quarterback J.J. McCarthy Suffers Serious Shoulder Injury)
Alex Zverev suffers gruesome injury against Rafael Nadal at French Open https://t.co/9Xf93zuVm6 pic.twitter.com/bBvRwxwimC
— New York Post (@nypost) June 3, 2022
“Very tough and very sad for him, honestly, he was playing unbelievable tournament. I know how much he’s fighting to win a Grand Slam but for the moment he was very unlucky. The only thing is I’m sure he’s going to win not one, much more than one and I wish him all the best and a very fast recovery,” Nadal said, according to the official Roland-Garros website.
Zverev appeared on crutches to officially retire from the critically important semi-final match.
The extent of his injury has not yet been revealed.