Tennis star Elena Rybakina was cruelly denied at shot at becoming world No.1 after being forced to retire against Iga Swiatek.
Rybakina trails Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings but could have knocked her off spot at the Cincinnati Masters.
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The Kazakh needed to win two more matches and reach the final to become the world No.1.
But an ankle injury meant she was unable to complete her quarter-final tie against Swiatek.
Rybakina called for a trainer in the fifth game with the score 40-40, though she trailed the first set 4-1.
She attempted to continue playing but managed just one more point before retiring, and she is now a doubt for the US Open at the end of the month after being spotted with tape running up her leg.
“Of course I feel not the greatest, I couldn’t even push from the serve,” Rybakina said after retiring.
”It’s painful to walk. We’ll know more tomorrow when we have the MRI.
“It’s been bothering me for a long period of time, but felt like I had it under control.
”It was feeling OK before the match but unfortunately one wrong movement, one landing, and something happened.”
Rybakina’s shot at top spot only became possible because of Sabalenka’s shock Round of 16 defeat to Sara Bejlek.
Sabalenka, who has been world No.1 since October 2024, went into the week on 8,760 points, with Rybakina narrowly trailing on 8,316.
Rybakina has never achieved top spot and several fans shared their sympathies after she was cruelly ruled out.
“Wow… this is heartbreaking,” wrote The Tennis Letter on X.
“Hoping it’s not an Achilles injury ahead of the U.S. Open. Hopefully she’ll be okay and recover quickly.”
“Two matches away from the top seed, the US Open is automatically at risk. Aryna can breathe a sigh of relief right away,” added Jakub Kazula.
“Really sad for Rybakina, hope she recovers in time for US Open, fingers crossed, great chance for Swiatek to go back to back events now in North America which happens very rarely,” commented Martyn Waller.