Disturbing scenes at the French Open
Tennis ace collapses after victory
May 27, 2026 – 9:08 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The Czech Jakub Menšík gave everything at the French Open on Wednesday. But that might have been a bit too much in the heat.
Dramatic scenes after the match point was changed: As soon as Jakub Menšík had won his marathon match against the Argentinian Mariano Navone at the French Open, the Czech collapsed on the court. Apparently shaken by cramps, the 20-year-old tennis player signaled with his hand that he needed help.
Worried about his protégé, the trainer wanted to rush to him, but he wasn’t allowed. Instead, helpers and paramedics came at some point who examined Menšík and tried to cool him with large ice cube bags.
Menšík and Navone had a real tennis battle over 4:41 hours in the heat of Paris at 31 degrees. Menšík ultimately won 6:3, 2:6, 6:4, 1:6, 7:6 (13:11) – but he didn’t look like a winner at the moment of triumph. Navone walked over and shook hands with the prone winner. “Great sportsmanship after a huge fight,” the organizer wrote in a post about the scene.
“It’s borderline with such high temperatures, best of five – it’s a matter of substance,” said tennis icon Boris Becker at Eurosport: “It has nothing to do with fitness. Some people just have problems with the sun, especially when it lasts for four and a half hours in the midday heat. That’s borderline and sometimes even more.”
High temperatures will not fall until Sunday
After a few minutes, Menšík was able to get up again with help. He left Court 6 of Roland Garros limping and with a wet towel on his neck; his white shirt on the back was completely stained with sand.
Since the start last Sunday, there have been unusually high temperatures in Paris for this time, and there is hardly a cloud in the sky. Most players struggle in these conditions. Only this Sunday the temperatures are expected to drop to 24 degrees.
