Zainab Ali Naqvi, a 17-year-old Pakistani tennis player, died of a suspected heart attack after collapsing in her room following a practice session for an ITF junior tournament. She passed away late Monday night while being transported to the hospital, accompanied by her grandmother who had sought medical help after she fainted. A senior official from the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) expressed deep sorrow, noting that Naqvi was a promising player dedicated to succeeding in ITF junior events.

According to a police official, doctors pronounced her dead upon arrival at an Islamabad hospital. The cause of death is suspected to be a heart attack, and her parents declined a postmortem. The body has been returned to Karachi. Medical experts suspect Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart muscle thickens.

The PTF expressed its condolences, stating the incident has caused “profound grief.” The federation’s President, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, and other members offered their heartfelt sympathies to the family. In tribute to Naqvi, all ITF matches scheduled for Tuesday were postponed to Wednesday.