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Tennis Player Possibly Poisoned At Wimbledon

"We feel this could not have been an accident," her mother says as police investigate.
British tennis player Gabriella Taylor spent four days in intensive care.
Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
British tennis player Gabriella Taylor spent four days in intensive care.
British tennis player Gabriella Taylor spent four days in intensive care.
Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
British tennis player Gabriella Taylor spent four days in intensive care.

Police are investigating whether a teenage tennis player was poisoned at Wimbledon.

British player Gabriella Taylor was “close to death” after she became sick while competing in the junior singles in July, her mother told The Daily Telegraph.

The 18-year-old was forced to withdraw while playing in her quarterfinal match against Kayla Day of the United States. She was hospitalized and spent several days in intensive care, The Huffington Post UK noted.

The illness was eventually later traced to Leptospirois, bacteria that can be found in rat urine, HuffPost UK said. The sometimes-lethal Leptospirosis can damage the kidneys and liver. It can also lead to meningitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Scotland Yard confirmed that police are investigating the poisoning allegation, which was made to authorities on August 5.

“The bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident,” Taylor’s mother, Milena, told the Telegraph. “Her bags with her drinks in were often left unattended in the players’ lounge and someone could have taken the opportunity to contaminate her drink.”

The player indicated on social media Wednesday that she was recovering.

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