Bizarre scenes as mystery illness wipes out tennis stars

Latvian 11th seed Anastasija Sevastova is the latest star to exit the BNP Paribas Open with a viral illness in Indian Wells.

Sevastova was down 5-0 in the first set of her third round match with Estonian 21st seed Anett Kontaveit on Monday when she retired.

Her departure, the cause of which was reported by the WTA, came less than 24 hours after Serena Williams was unable to continue her match on Sunday, also citing a viral illness.

Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev also revealed on Monday that he too had a virus, speaking after losing to fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff.

Zverev was sent packing with a 6-3 6-1 defeat by his fellow German.

Struff saved all four break points he faced and took barely an hour to clinch his first career win over Zverev in five attempts.

“I have been sick for a week. That hasn’t changed unfortunately,” third seed Zverev told reporters.

“I think I just got unlucky, got a virus somewhere and that’s how it is.”

He said his main focus was to recover for the Miami Open that starts in Florida next week.

‘Extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue’

Serenas’ return to tennis after a five-week break ended abruptly, with the former world No.1 retiring from her match against Garbine Muguruza.

Williams raced to a 3-0 lead over two-time major champion Muguruza in their third-round match before dropping six-straight games and the first set 6-3.

“By the score, it might have looked like I started well, but I was not feeling at all well physically,” Williams said in a statement distributed by tournament officials.

During the changeover between sets, Williams called for the trainer. She went back out and lost the first game of the second set. The match was soon declared over and Williams walked off the court.

“Before the match, I did not feel great and then it just got worse with every second – extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue,” Williams said.

“I will focus on getting better and start preparing for Miami.”

with agencies