“I can’t breathe”: Serena Williams forced to retire after terrifying health scare
<p>Serena Williams has been forced to retire from her third-round match at Indian Wells Masters after a frightening health scare that left her with “extreme dizziness".</p>
<p>The 23-time Grand Slam Champion won the first three games of her highly anticipated clash with Garbine Muguruza in the California desert.</p>
<p>She took the court for the second set, but soon complained of feeling ill as the match continued.</p>
<p>She lost the next six games and decided to call it a day when she was trailing 3-6 0-1.</p>
<p>Tournament organisers took to Twitter to explain the 37-year-old was suffering from a “viral illness".</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr">Feel better soon! <br /><br />Serena Williams' third round retirement was due to viral illness.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BNPPO19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BNPPO19</a> <a href="https://t.co/mpBNT0snHu">pic.twitter.com/mpBNT0snHu</a></p>
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/BNPPARIBASOPEN/status/1104886929403785216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
<p>“I’ve never seen her like that,” one commentator said.</p>
<p>“It’s so, so rare that she ever retires from a tennis match.”</p>
<p>The tournament was the sixth time Williams and Muguruza came face-to-face on court.</p>
<p>The last two clashes were grand slam finals which saw Williams winning at Wimbledon in 2015 and Muguruza taking home the 2016 French Open crown.</p>
<p>"We've played many times and it's always super-tough, super-exciting," said Muguruza, who is a former world number one like Williams. "I wish I'm going to see her soon and [she's] feeling better."</p>
<p>Williams explained in a statement, “Before the match, I did not feel great, and then it just got worse with every second; extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue.</p>
<p>“By the score, it might have looked like I started well, but I was not feeling at all well physically.</p>
<p>“I will focus on getting better and start preparing for Miami.”</p>
