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Ball kid collapses during Aus Open match | 00:42
The quick-thinking actions of tennis veteran Tim Puetz has potentially saved a young ball kid from serious injury after they began to faint on Sunday afternoon.
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During the Australian Open mixed doubles match between Puetz and Demi Schuurs and Aussie pair Kimberly Birrell and John-Patrick Smith, the crowd alerted the players to a situation unfolding with a young ball kid.
With the match locked at 1-1 in the second set, the child was seen struggling at the back of the court, appearing uneasy on their feet as they began throwing balls that hadn’t been asked for.
One fan yelled out, “He’s going to collapse. The ball kid is going to collapse”, and Puetz leapt into action.
Without missing a beat the 37-year-old ran over to the young child and held them up as they struggled to stay conscious in the sweltering Melbourne heat.
Temperatures in Melbourne peaked at 33.9C at around 5.30pm, just when the doubles match was getting underway.
And it was still a steamy 31.5C when the health scare unfolded.
Puetz not only stopped them from collapsing but then helped lower the ball kid onto the court to lay down before asking for water and towels to cool them off as officials rushed in to help.
“Unfortunately one of the ball kids is unwell and that’s very unfortunate,” commentator David Basheer said on Nine.
“All it takes is the ball kids not to take on the right type of liquid refreshments and these sorts of things can happen on what has been the hottest day of the AO 2025. They train for this event, so proud to represent the grand slam.”
“Temperatures have been over 30 degrees all day,” Nicole Pratt added.
The ball kid succumbed to the heat on Sunday. Image: StanSource: SuppliedThe match was delayed for just under 10 minutes before action resumed.
Tennis Australia later confirmed the ball kid was “fine” and was being monitored by a doctor.
Birrell and Smith went on to win the match 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.
The Australian pair will face the winner of the clash between Ellen Perez and Kevin Krawietz and Aussie duo Priscilla Hon and Alex Bolt in the quarter-finals.
