A tennis match in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius not only sounds unhealthy, but can also be extremely dangerous. Térence Atmane reveals shocking details after his retirement in Shanghai.
The Shanghai Masters are demanding a lot from the tennis stars these days. Temperatures in the Chinese metropolis are between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius every day. Conditions that Térence Atmane’s body was unable to cope with in the first set.
He had to retire at 4:4 in his first-round match against Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli. When he called for a physiotherapist, he was already in an alarming condition.
Atmane complains of severe symptoms: “My whole body was shaking.”
“I panicked, I was shaking. I couldn’t remember where I was. I couldn’t tell what day of the week it was. My body sent me a signal—the signal to stop immediately,“ the Austrian newspaper Kurier quoted the 23-year-old as saying. Atmane had already noticed symptoms after his first service game, which then continued to worsen. ”They got worse and worse. My whole body was shaking, I couldn’t breathe and I had a headache,” he said, describing his problems.
Atmane only noticeable at the top level due to scandal
For the talented Frenchman, the Shanghai Masters, which runs until October 12, is over prematurely. Alexander Zverev, on the other hand, is still in the running, having battled through a minor foot injury to defeat Valentin Royer in two sets.
Atmane has four Challenger-level victories to his name, but has only attracted attention at Grand Slam tournaments through a rather unsightly scene.
In his opening defeat at the 2024 French Open against Austrian Sebastian Ofner, he lost his nerve and slammed the ball into the stands. In doing so, the world number 136 injured a spectator. After lengthy discussions, Atmane avoided disqualification at the time.
