The Associated Press is reporting that tennis star Victoria Azarenka collapsed in her match at the U.S. Open today. According to the Associated Press, she was taken off the court by wheelchair and later to a hospital. The diagnosis was initially speculated to be heat-related, but Azarenka later acknowledged that she had suffered a mild concussion.
“I was warming up in the gym prior to my match against Gisela Dulko when I fell while running a sprint,” she said. “I fell forward and hit my arm and head. I was checked by the medical team before I went on court and they were courtside for monitoring. I felt worse as the match went on, having a headache and feeling dizzy. I also started having trouble seeing and felt weak before I fell.”
Concussions are fortunately rare injuries in tennis, since it is not a collision sport like football. I discussed in a recent post how professional tennis players are among the best athletes in the world. Having said that, I expect that a concussion would be a tough injury for Azarenka, or any tennis star, from which to recover quickly. Tennis is a sports that requires incredible balance, agility, coodination, and quick changes of direction, and all of those skills might be adversely affected initially. I hope she makes a full and speedy recovery.
See my post on concussions for further information regarding signs and symptoms, treatment, and return to play of this common injury.
