Tennis star Bernard Tomic bizarrely abandoned his match following a furious on-court row with his girlfriend.
Tomic, 31, has struggled in recent years, ending up on the Challenger Tour which is a level below the elite competitions. The Australian, who once ranked as highly as No.17 in the world, now finds himself outside the top 200 and is attempting to climb back towards the top.
His form showed no sign of improving after losing the first set to Japan's Yuta Shimizu 6-1 at the Little Rock Open in Arkansas on Friday. Complaining of illness and calling for medical attention on multiple occasions, Tomic became increasingly frustrated.
It was reported that the 31-year-old had told doctors that his girlfriend, Keely Hannah, had 'tested positive for Covid-19' that morning. That's when the controversy started, as the couple, who went public with their relationship in January 2022, began a heated exchange disputing the timing for Keely's positive Covid test.
As their argument played out, spreading a feeling of profound awkwardness around the arena, the ATP Challengers commentator revealed what was being said. "Bernard and his girlfriend just continuing to argue," they explained.
"The long and short of it, Bernie saying, 'You tested positive for Covid today', girlfriend saying, 'No, that was two weeks ago'. I did not anticipate having to commentate a couple's quarrel here - but here we are.
"Either way, uncomfortable for all the fans here, who are just wanting to see a little bit of tennis tonight, but I don't know that they're going to get it."
Tomic, who later tested positive for Covid, then retired from the match due to illness. "Well, that's a very awkward way to end, and a rather 'Bernie' way to end, isn't it? Tough way to go out," the commentator added. "Tomic now, we'll see if he's able to recover. And again, how the heck did he win that match a couple of days ago?"
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Keely Hannah disputed the timing of her positive Covid-19 test (ATP Tour)
Bernard Tomic retired from the match with illness and later tested positive, too (ATP Tour)Footage also showed a frustrated Keely walking out of the arena. Her boyfriend had beaten USA's Thai-Son Kwiatkowski in the round of 32 last Wednesday to advance to his last-16 clash with Shimizu.
Tomic hasn't qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam since the 2021 Australian Open, losing to Denis Shapovalov of Canada in the second round. He did, however, reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2011 before being knocked out by Novak Djokovic, marking his best performance in a Slam.
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