Tragedy struck the tennis world this week as 17-year-old Pakistani tennis player Zainab Ali Naqvi passed away ahead of a junior ITF event in Islamabad.
Following a practice session on Monday, Ali Naqvi collapsed in her room and was discovered by her grandmother, who promptly sought help. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Ali Naqvi tragically succumbed to a suspected heart attack. Doctors have classified it as a natural cause of death. Specifically, doctors suspect the cause to be Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle thickens. The teenager’s family accepted that a heart attack was the reason for her passing and declined to have a postmortem conducted.
The Pakistan Tennis Federation announced Zainab’s passing in a news release issued on Tuesday:
With deep sorrow and profound grief, the PTF conveys that Miss Zainab Ali Naqvi, a young tennis player who had come to Islamabad from Karachi to participate in the ITF Juniors Tournaments, passed away last night on Feb 12, 2024 in Islamabad.
PTF president Aisam-ul-Haq former president Salim Saifullah Khan, PTF Council members and the tennis fraternity at large offered their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. May Allah bless the departed soul with eternal peace in paradise.
As a mark of respect for the deceased player, all matches scheduled for Tuesday in the ITF event were rescheduled to take place on Wednesday. (sources: Dawn, The Times of India)
