Fans witnessed a scary scene during day 1 at the 2024 US Open. Yoshihito Nishioka was taking on Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round and the score was well poised at 7-6(2),2-6,5-7,7-5,1-0 in favor of the Serb. However, during the fifth set, the Japanese tennis star was seen struggling a bit with his health. What happened to Nishioka?

He was seen in a lot of pain. Nishioka was forced to go down to his floor and seek medical attention. As per reports, he probably hurt his left thigh.

Seeing Yoshihito Nishioka unwell, the doctor came running in and even his opponent, Kecmanovic, sat down beside him. He looked concerned, seeing the Japanese tennis star struggle to stand on the court. Not much information is available about his injury.

Nishioka has already had 4-5 withdrawals this season. During his withdrawal at the Dallas Open earlier this year, he said, “After the first match, my body was in a lot of pain and I felt a little nauseous after eating, so I took precautions and retired.” However, this time it looks more serious.

His struggles with injuries during the vital moments are quite extraordinary. For example, if we can recall, this 28-year-old tennis had a similar moment in the 2023 French Open as well. An injury ruled him out that time from his R16 match against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Shortly after the withdrawal, he claimed, “I unfortunately pulled it at a really crucial moment.” At that time, it was reported that he perhaps had aggravated a groin strain during that match.

His current injury also reminds us how, in 2017, Nishioka ruptured the ACL in his knee. He was just 21. The incident took place after he earned his second Gram Slam win and his first two wins over Top 20 opponents, Jack Sock and Tomas Berdych. The tennis player had to undergo surgery and missed the rest of the season.

So, injuries have been one of the biggest opponents of this Japanese tennis star over the years. However, at times, his struggles with controlling his emotions during his matches have also put him into some real trouble.

When Yoshihito Nishioka issued an apology for his poor performance!

Yoshihito Nishioka took on the world number 7, Hubert Hurkacz in the R32 of the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month. Hurkacz was seen struggling a bit with his fitness issue in that match and he gave away the first set to the Japanese. However, he then pulled things back on track in the next two sets to win the match by 3-6,7-6(4),6-1.

Nishioka was spotted getting frustrated time and again in that match. His on-court behavior in Cincinnati made headlines in the tennis world at that time. He was handed two penalties from the umpire during the same match. Reason? He smashed three balls out of the court in frustration, which resulted in a point penalty first, and then again, got a game penalty as well.

Being unable to take his chances against a struggling Hubert Hurkacz frustrated him even more. A commentator was heard saying, “What is he doing? He’s completely lost his mind. Self-destruction if you like. I mean, he knows the rules, he knows exactly what’s going to happen.” They were stunned and so was the crowd!

After the match, he explained what was going on in his head. Nishioka claimed, “I was already frustrated before the tie-break. In the third set when he broke me, and I felt like everything went to him and nothing to me. I played okay, but everything went to him, so that’s where the frustration was coming from. I’m very sorry to my fans, I showed my best tennis until the second set when I couldn’t.“

There’s no doubt about his enormous potential to succeed on the men’s tour. However, these little incidents are now pushing him farther from reaching his goals in the sport. Share your thoughts on Yoshihito Nishioka’s struggles with injuries and emotional outbursts.