The Spaniard fell to the ground and was seemingly unable to turn his body over as he was writhing on the court, crippled in pain
TENNIS star Nicola Kuhn collapsed mid-point during his Miami Open match - and was left lying on the court for 15 seconds before help arrived.
The Spaniard - who was celebrating his 19th birthday yesterday - was two hours into his first-round match with German Mischa Zverev when he fell.
As he made his way forward to approach a short ball, Kuhn appeared to completely cramp up and hit the court - fortunately not smacking his head against the ground.
He was unable to turn his body over and lay almost motionless for a few seconds before writhing around in clear agony.
Eventually, a trainer tended to him as opponent Zverev fetched some water during the disturbing scenes.
Kuhn was heavily supported as he hobbled agonisingly off the court at 2-2 in the third set.
The Spaniard desperately held back the tears but there was no way he could carry on.
It is thought the high humidity levels contributed to the collapse while temperatures of 26°C made the conditions even more difficult.
Kuhn had led 6-2 5-2 and had eight match points in the second set against Zverev but could not convert any of them for a birthday win.
But he remained positive on Twitter once fully recovered.
Tournament wildcard Kuhn said: "Left it all on court. The birthday didn’t go as I wished but I’m grateful for all the support I received today."
Support flooded in for the ace from fellow players and fans alike.
Canadian star Denis Shapovalov said: "Such a brutal sport this is. Hope he is okay."
Felix Auger Aliassime added: "That’s tough to watch. Hope your well my friend @NicolaKuhn1"
One Twitter user wrote: "Oh dear, Nicola Kuhn with a full body cramp. Terrible scenes."
Meanwhile, there was plenty of anger towards the lack of an immediate response to the fall, something that has been under heavier scrutiny since Bethanie Mattek-Sands' awful injury at Wimbledon in 2017.
One person asked: "Why did it take so long for help to arrive?"
Another added: "It took too long for someone to be at his side- you can’t assume it’s a cramp when someone goes down like that and doesn’t gesture that he’s okay."
A third wrote a touching message to the Spaniard: "Sorry you had such a tough match...it is brutal sport and I quite frankly don't know how tennis players are expected to play 3 -5 matches in the heat.
"Hope you are feeling better. You'll be back next yr. And Happy Birthday! hope the rest of your day was much better."
In Brisbane last year, Garbine Muguruza suffered cramp in her leg and was forced to retire while Andrea Petkovic is understood to have suffered from heat stroke during this year's Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic is the top seed and heavy favourite to win the title this week in Florida. The Serb could face Kyle Edmund in the semi-final.
If he does go all the way, Djokovic will draw level with Rafael Nadal on a record 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
