While Canadians endure winter, the scorching summer heat at the Australian Open proved too much for rising tennis star Marina Stakusic. The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario was forced to withdraw from her second-round singles match and required a wheelchair to leave the court after suffering severe leg cramps.
A Dramatic and Painful Exit
The incident occurred early on Monday, January 19, 2026, during her match against Australia's Priscilla Hon at Melbourne's ANZ Arena. Stakusic was trailing 6-1, 4-6, 3-5 when she collapsed to the ground after a point, visibly in immediate and significant distress.
Medical staff and her opponent, Hon, rushed to her aid. Stakusic was helped into a wheelchair and, appearing to be in tears, was rolled off the court for further treatment. Her retirement from the tournament was confirmed following the medical timeout.
"I really hope she does feel better. That was quite a scene out there," Hon said after the match. "I had quite a few people come up to me and be, like, 'Wow, that was so dramatic.'"
Oppressive Conditions Take a Toll
The extreme heat has emerged as a major storyline in the early days of the season's first Grand Slam. Temperatures reached around 29 degrees Celsius on Monday, with forecasts predicting a high of 36 degrees Celsius for the coming weekend.
Stakusic was not the only Canadian casualty of the conditions. Later the same day, Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime also retired from his match against Portugal's Nuno Borges. Auger-Aliassime was trailing 6-3, 4-6, 4-6 when severe cramping forced him to stop.
"I can't recall ever in my life (cramping) this early in a tournament, this early in a match," the former world top-10 player stated. "I'm OK, but I just started cramping at the start of the third set. Yeah, it became very difficult to be competitive at this level."
Heat Impacts Players and Staff Alike
The dangerous conditions have affected more than just competitors. During an opening-round match on Sunday, a ball girl collapsed near the umpire's chair during play between Zeynep Sonmez and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
In a display of sportsmanship, Turkey's Sonmez immediately suspended play and helped the struggling girl to a shaded area, where she fainted. The game was halted for six minutes while medical staff attended to her. According to Tennis Australia, the ball girl was sent home after receiving care.
"She was really struggling," Sonmez told BBC Sport. "She said she was fine but it was really obvious she was not fine... As we were walking she fainted, so luckily I grabbed her. She was really shaking."
The early retirements of Stakusic and Auger-Aliassime mark a disappointing start to the Australian Open for Canadian tennis fans, with the extreme weather posing a significant challenge to athlete safety and performance at one of the sport's most prestigious events.
