It was very clear to everyone at Roland Garros that Serena Williams was not in a good way at all as she somehow managed to battle past Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland in their French Open semi-final.
Serena leaned heavily on her racquet at various points in the match and coughed incessantly during the last-four encounter.
Indeed, she appeared to be sick into her towel at one of the changeovers in what was a tough few moments to observe for fans everywhere.
She eventually battled through the obvious lethargy and sickness she was suffering to win 4-6 6-3 6-0 and secure her place in the final at Roland Garros.
It’s not the first time that Serena has vomited on her way to victory: at this year’s Australian Open final she ran to the toilet and was sick during a delay for the roof to be closed, something which she said at the time helped her enormously as it cleared her chest and made her feel better.
Anti-doping rules prohibit players from taking most medications and they simply have to drink tea and honey and hope for the best at times. But still, fans were left to wonder why Serena was not calling for a trainer as she struggled in her chair at changeovers.
It was at 2-2 in the second set that Serena looked most likely to pull out of the match as she coughed forcefully into a towel and appeared to be sick.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick,” she said in her on-court TV interview.
“I really thought I was going to lose… I really don’t feel like playing the third set I’m so tired. I thought: if I’m going to lose, I might as well go for winners.
“I didn’t expect to win that, and I can’t believe I won. I can’t believe I won,” she added.
“I got the flu after my third-round match and I haven’t been getting better. Hopefully this is the worst and I’ll get better.”
Serena now has the chance to become the first woman to win the first two Grand Slams in a year since Jennifer Capriati achieved the feat in 2001.