'I'm so sorry': Tennis player's devastating mid-match breakdown

Rising college player Alex Lebedev was forced to retire with only a couple of games remaining in an ATP challenger match after vomiting and suffering from severe cramp.

Lebedev was in the third set and serving at 5-4 for the match against Vasil Kirkov when things got messy.

The 22-year-old lost the first point in the 31 degrees Celsius heat and placed his hands on his knees and started to vomit. He subsequently apologised to his opponent saying, “I’m so sorry” off court.

After a nine-minute interruption as the court was cleaned, things turned from bad to worse.

Following the break, the cramps continued and hampered the 22-year-old’s movement during the point.

This forced the youngster to withdraw from the match.

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Unfortunately, the cramps were so severe he was unable to properly shake hands with his opponent at the net with Kirkov wishing him all the best.

Lebedev later responded to a fan on Twitter who reached out to him to check on his wellbeing.

The college star has been working his way up the world rankings through the ATP Challenger events.

While there was no money involved in this event, the winner of the competition did get the opportunity to win $260 in another match.