Tennis world suffers irreparable loss after the shocking death of 17-year-old ITF junior player in Pakistan

Upcoming Pakistan teen Zainab Ali Naqvi tragically passed away after succumbing to a fatal heart attack in her hotel room in Islamabad.

Tennis world suffers irreparable loss after the shocking death of 17-year-old ITF junior player in Pakistan

Zainab Ali Naqvi (image via Open Sources)

In a piece of disturbing news from Pakistan, upcoming teen player Zainab Ali Naqvi sadly passed away. The player was preparing for an ITF junior event in Islamabad and collapsed in her hotel room.

She had returned from the training and is suspected to have suffered a heart attack. Her grandmother had accompanied her and called for help after finding Zainab unconscious. Despite the best efforts of the hotel staff, she was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital as per a police official handling the case.

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Hailing from Karachi, Naqvi was one of the brightest prospects coming from Pakistan. Many top officials of the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) have offered their condolences on the unfortunate incident that occurred before the event.

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It is very sad because Zainab was a very promising player on the women's circuit and enthusiastically working hard to win the ITF junior competitions.
said a senior official of the Pakistan Tennis Federation as per Outlook India.

Respecting the family’s wishes, the doctors did not conduct any post-mortem. Her parents have been handed her mortal remains with the funeral set to take place in Naqvi’s hometown in Karachi.

The doctors have called it a case of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy where the heart muscles become thick. The heart attack happened due to natural causes and nothing foul could be suspected in the case.

As a mark of respect, all matches scheduled on 13th February were canceled and rescheduled for 14th February. The PTF also sent out an official statement where they expressed collective grief for the loss of life at such a young age. 

Mr. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, the President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation, Senator Salim Saifullah Khan, Ex- President PTF, PTF Council Members, and the tennis fraternity at large offer their heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family
Read the official statement.

PTF pays a classy tribute to honor Zainab Ali Naqvi

Following the unfortunate news, the PTF showed high class in honoring the teenager. The J30 event was renamed to Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial to honor their star.

Zainab Ali Naqvi
Zainab Ali Naqvi (image via Open Sources)

They also declared a court at the tournament era would be named after her. The news was confirmed by Geo News journalist Muneeb Farrukh.

This was the second tragic incident of February in the tennis world. Former college player and later coach, Andy Brandi, also passed away a few days ago. The coach of the Florida women’s team, he led them to three national championships.

He also served as executive director of the IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy, the academy initially started by legendary coach Nick Bollettieri.

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