The tennis world has reacted with shock after both favourites Paula Badosa and Jannik Sinner retired from their Miami Open quarter-finals during the day session.
Soon to be World No.3, Badosa was in tears as she was forced to bow out of the quarter-final after not feeling well against American Jessica Pegula.
On Monday, Badosa admitted she wasn’t sure if she could compete in her fourth round match that she subsequently won.
However, the Spaniard was in obvious discomfort when she retired sick at 4-1 in unfortunate circumstances for the in-form star.
On the men’s side of the draw, Italian phenom Sinner was also forced to retire against World No.103 Francisco Cerundolo.
Right after an impressive display to defeat Aussie Nick Kyrgios in the Fourth Round, Sinner was in pain due to blisters on his foot.
Cerundolo admitted it was ‘strange’ seeing his friend hardly walking on the other side of the court.
“I didn’t know anything,” Cerundolo said in his on-court interview.
“When I was serving at 3-1, 30-0, I saw him bending down. It was really strange.
“I didn’t see anything wrong and I hope he is OK, he is a great player.”
Tennis world reacts to bizarre retirement drama
With both Badosa and Sinner retiring in the first set, ticket holders for the Stadium seats didn’t witness a full set for the day session.
In total, there has been 15 withdrawals/retirements during the Miami Open.
Fans were left shocked at the double retirement from two stars in a bizarre day of tennis.