Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz is left writhing on the ground in agony after shocking incident during a match
Cruz Hewitt was left writhing on the floor in agony after he landed awkwardly on his wrist during a Challenger Tour match against Matt Hulme in Brisbane.
Hewit, who is the son of Aussie tennis great Lleyton Hewitt, had been attempting to qualify for the Brisbane QTC Tennis International #2 and had advanced to the second round of the event after Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko was forced to withdraw in the opening round due to injury.
Hewitt would later take on fellow Australian Matt Hulme but suffered a 6-4 4-6 0-6 defeat against the 25-year-old, despite drawing level at 1-1 in the second set.
It means the youngster will have to wait to make his main-draw debut on the Challenger Tour.
During the match, Hewitt attempted to stretch to return a tricky ball played to him by Hulme.
The 16-year-old subsequently fell to the ground and appeared to land awkwardly on his left wrist.
Cruz Hewitt was knocked out of qualifying for a Challengers event in Brisbane this week
During the match against Matt Hulme, Hewitt appeared to slip over as he attempted to play a shot
The young Australian was seen lying on the tennis court holding his wrist as he writhed in pain
He spent a moment lying on the court wincing in pain, before rising to his feet and playing on.
He returned to the baseline inspecting his arm, before he was pictured sitting on his bench looking dejected with his head in his hands.
Despite the defeat, Hewitt served out six Aces and saved five break points in the match, but would ultimately suffer defeat in the final set to love.
Hewitt has been in the spotlight over the past few months following his performances at the Australian Open.
The Aussie tennis star had attempted to qualify for the main draw of the Grand Slam, 28 years after his dad’s debut at the tournament.
Hewitt was knocked out in the first round of qualifying by Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets. He would later progress to the second round of the boy’s singles tournament at the Australian Open beating MooBeen Kim before being beaten by Jan Kumstat in the second round.
It is now the fifth time that Hewitt has failed to reach the main draw of a Challengers event.
Hewitt would suffer a 6-4 4-6 0-6 defeat against Matt Hulme at the Pat Rafter Arena
Despite the injury he was able to finish the match but there was some concern as he looked in some pain
Hewitt came into the event after reaching the second-round of the boy’s singles event at the Australian Open
He has, in recent months, been subjected to criticism by some, who have branded his inclusion in the qualifying draw at the Australian Open ‘nepotism’.
Hewitt had been given a wildcard for the event and Channel 9 commentator Todd Woodbridge rushed to the defence of the youngster, claiming he deserved to be at the event on merit, not because of his father’s stature in the sport.
‘Cruz is in these positions because he is a very good, talented young player and one of our best here in Australia,’ Woodbridge said to Channel 9 during last month’s Grand Slam.
‘He deserves every opportunity he has got to be there. Some people would like to say otherwise. I know you have to deal with that and you shouldn’t have to, so I am putting it out there — he deserves to be there.’
