A tennis star has opened up on a terrifying near-death experience that turned his life upside down on a day like any other. Altug Celikbilek, who reached a career-high ranking of 154 four years ago, collapsed on the court during a match against fellow Turkish player Yanki Erel in 2024. He was rushed to hospital, where he remained unconscious for 13 days and came very close to losing his life.

It turned out that Celikbilek had a brain tumour, which had previously gone undetected and nearly cost him the ultimate price. It was successfully removed, but the 29-year-old now suffers from double vision and hasn't returned to tennis since that fateful day. Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the entire ordeal is that it all started with a simple headache.

Speaking to Ubitennis, Celikbilek recalled: "For me, it was a completely normal day. I didn't have any negative feelings. It was a match day like any other.

"I woke up, had breakfast and then went to the club to warm up. After that, I went out onto the court to play the match and everything was proceeding normally.

"During the match, I started to get a headache whilst warming up. In the first game, the headache got much worse. At that point, I had to stop the match after two or three games, so I left the court.

"The physios were there and tried to do something to ease the headache, but there wasn't much they could do. I thought it was just a simple headache. So I took the shuttle and went to the hotel to rest.

"After vomiting on the shuttle, I somehow made it to the hotel and then I don't remember at all what happened next, until I woke up in Istanbul.

"I woke up, I think 13 days later, in a hospital in Istanbul. To be honest, I don't remember how I felt. It was as if I'd had a long sleep and woken up.

"A few hours passed and I tried to get up or do what I needed to do at that moment, and that's when I started to feel better.

"There was still something wrong, though, because my eyes weren't in the right position. It was due to double vision, which I still have now. I'd also completely lost my balance.

"What's more, as I'd been in hospital for 13 days, I'd lost muscle tone throughout my body, so it was quite a difficult situation, but it wasn't as if I felt I was about to die, which is actually what happened."

Nearly two years on from that fateful day, Celikbilek has a four-month-old daughter and a wife, Eliessa, who has always been by his side.

"My family has been absolutely vital to me ever since I was in hospital in Tunisia," he added. "They all came. My friends and coaches from Istanbul came too. I think my manager, who lives in Germany, also came from Istanbul.

"There were lots of people there; my Istanbul club, Enka Sport Club, and the Turkish Tennis Federation were there too. The Turkish government actually helped me a great deal as well.

"There were probably lots of other people there, but during those 13 days I just slept, so I don't know and I don't remember who was there for me.

"But if I have to talk about my family during that time, my girlfriend, who is now my wife and the mother of my little girl, was there from start to finish.

"My mum and dad were there every single moment too, so I felt their support and they helped me a lot. I still feel it now."

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