US Open match paused after player vomits on court; what happened?

During his US Open semifinal match against Jannik Sinner on Friday, British player Jack Draper faced an unexpected challenge when he vomited several times on the court during play.

The first time largely went unnoticed and Draper quickly cleaned it up.

The second time, Draper quickly again wiped the area with a towel, and the chair umpire allowed the match to continue after a brief conversation with both players.

A few games later, Draper again threw up near the back wall and quickly cleaned it up with a towel. The chair umpire again allowed play to continue.

A more thorough cleaning of the baseline area was done during the next changeovers.

What happened to Jack Draper?

The tournament 25th seed was down a set and battling top seed Jannick Sinner in the first semifinal of the U.S. Open Friday afternoon when he leaned over between points and threw up.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused Draper’s distress, though he was seen with ice packs on his neck during changeovers, leaning on his racket in between points and seemingly quite pale.

Each time, he quickly grabbed a towel from his backcourt box and wiped up the vomit.

There was a brief pause in play while the chair umpire addressed both players and explained to Sinner that Draper vomitted and then cleaned it up.

Medical professionals visited both men at their benches during the changeover after the second incident — Sinner took a nasty fall during the previous game and appeared to injure his left wrist — and crews cleaned the court.

After the third incident, the umpire called for grounds crews to clean up the area again during the next changeover.

Had Draper thrown up on the actual court area, play would have been stopped and crews would have been called to clean it up instead of allowing a player to do it.

The winner of the match will go on to face the winner of the Francis Tiafoe vs. Taylor Fritz match set for Friday evening.

The men’s U.S. Open final is scheduled for Sunday where an American man — Fritz or Tiafoe — will try to capture the first men’s title for a U.S. player in more than 20 years.