The promising tennis player’s unexpected illness at Wimbledon and subsequent hospitalization made a lot of noise in the tennis community at one time.

British tennis player Gabriella Taylor had once won the most prestigious competition. In the ¼ finals, she was to play against the American tennis player Kayla Day. But the game did not go well from the very beginning. The athlete was sluggish on the court, and her opponent took advantage of it, directing the balls to the corners. 

In the second set the opponents played only two games. The tennis players won one point each, and everything seemed to be going well, but Taylor unexpectedly refused to continue the fight after talking to the referee.

The reason for the strange refusal was the British woman’s poor health. Even stopping the game did not help the athlete – her condition only worsened. Taylor was rushed to Southampton Hospital, where she spent four days in intensive care.

The diagnosis was not made until several days later. It turned out that Gabriella had leptospirosis. This infectious disease often runs like a mild cold, but in the case of the tennis player, it had a more severe effect on the body.

Leptospirosis is very rarely reported in the UK these days, with fewer than 40 cases each year. The athlete’s mother Milena was completely shocked by the diagnosis.

“She was perfectly healthy and played very well. Gabriella was full of confidence and was looking forward to the title. It was her dream! Everything was going well until the quarterfinals, and now she was lying in intensive care at death. When the infectious disease doctors explained what it was, we couldn’t believe it.” Milena said.

But the mother of the tennis player had a version of what happened. The woman suggested that her daughter might have been intentionally poisoned.

“Her beverage bags were often left unattended in the players’ lounge, and someone could have taken the opportunity to slip something into them.” Milena said in an interview.

The incident was reported to the police. Law enforcement took the mother’s story seriously. Investigators tested the food as well as the water at Wimbledon. Samples were also taken from Taylor’s bottles in her home. But no traces of the bacteria that carry leptospirosis were found. The case had to be stopped.