Clara Tauson collapsed to the ground during her match against Yulia Putinseva at the Guangzhou Open, leaving the court in a wheelchair.

The Danish tennis player locked horns with Kazakhstan's Putinseva in the second round of the WTA 250 event. Tauson had previously ousted sixth seed Linda Fruhvirtova with a straight-sets victory in the first round, 6-2, 7-6 (6).

Tauson started out the Round of 16 match strongly, winning the first set against Putinseva with relative ease. However, her opponent fought back and took the second set on a tiebreak, forcing a decider. It was then that things unraveled for the World No. 76.

Tauson was serving for a break point in the very first game of the third set when she fell to the ground. The medical team rushed to her aide but she was ultimately unable to resume the match and retired from the tournament, leaving the Nansha International Tennis Center in a wheelchair.

Tauson has been dealing with injuries throughout the season. The 20-year-old sustained an injury after Wimbledon which forced her to take a month away from the sport. Then, in mid-August at the Cleveland Open, she retired from her match against Leylah Fernandez.

Now, just twenty days later, she has been forced to retire from another match. Her opponent will face Tatjana Maria in the quarter-finals of the event.

Tennis fans have reacted to the news of her difficulties in Guangzhou, with some suggesting she needs to take more time away.

"Clara Tauson collapsed at the beginning of the 3rd set possibly due to excessive heat, she had to retire & was wheeled off the court...she's been struggling a lot physically lately, def needs some sort of a break to sort things out," wrote one.

However, others were of the opinion that it was simply the extreme heat which caused Tauson to struggle at this tournament.

"NO she was struggling last year!! especially bag pain. Clare lost this fight due to extreme heat. She will be back she is such a fighter!! GO Clara!!," commented one.