The ITF junior tournament in Pakistan has been marred by tragic news. One of the participants died a few hours before the match. The news sent shockwaves through the Asian tennis community.

No one could have imagined that the girl would die so early.

Cause of death: heart attack

The tragedy occurred on February 12 in Islamabad. 17-year-old Pakistani tennis player Zainab Ali Naqvi was preparing for her first round match at the J30 tournament. Her opponent was Nam Gyu Ri from South Korea.

According to the Pakistani portal Tribune, Zainab trained and went to her maternal grandmother, with whom she stayed during the tournament. In the evening, the girl was taking a shower when she lost consciousness. The athlete’s family tried to reach her and eventually broke down the door to the bathroom, discovering the fallen girl. Her grandmother immediately called the doctors.

The tennis player was taken to the hospital, but the doctors’ efforts were in vain. Ali Naqvi died without regaining consciousness. According to preliminary data, the cause of death was a heart attack.

All matches have been postponed

Pakistani tennis fans could not believe the departure of the 17-year-old junior. The National Federation published an obituary in which it expressed deep condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Zainab Ali Naqvi, a young tennis player who came to Islamabad from Karachi to participate in the ITF Juniors Tournaments. All scheduled matches were postponed by a day as a mark of respect for the deceased. Foreign and Pakistani players, parents, coaches and officials observed a minute’s silence in memory of Zainab, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) said in a statement posted on social media.

The court and the tournament will be named after Zainab

Zainab Ali Naqvi was considered a rising star in Pakistani tennis. The Karachi native was among the top eight juniors in the country. During her short life, the girl took part in four ITF tournaments in Islamabad and Istanbul, but did not win a single victory.

Ali Naqvi started playing tennis at the age of six, following the example of her father Imam. In parallel with sports, she studied music and loved to play the piano, preferring the works of Einaudi and Beethoven. In tennis, she liked Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, and recently Zainab has been keeping a close eye on Aryna Sabalenka. The girl was brought up in a complete family, and she had a younger brother.

Zainab Ali Naqvi / Photo: © Personal archive of Zainab Ali Naqvi

Al Naqvi was remembered by others as a promising tennis player with a positive outlook on life.

— Zainab always smiled and was polite to everyone. Everyone who knew her was delighted with her positivity. I saw her in Islamabad a few days ago and we had a very pleasant conversation. The news of her death is, of course, shocking,” PTF vice-president Muhammad Khalid Rehmani told the Tribune portal.

A little later, the new president of the PTF, the famous former Pakistani tennis player Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, who was elected to his post literally the day before the tragedy, addressed the public. He said that the court on which Ali Naqvi was supposed to play would be named after her. In addition, the ITF J30 tournament in Islamabad, which starts on February 19, will be renamed in memory of the junior.