Soooo a mystery illness, and they aren't blaming COVID?….yet.

what is this new bug?

https://nypost.com/2023/09/05/troubling-us-open-bug-taking-down-top-tennis-players

Troubling ‘US Open bug’ taking down top tennis players

Even the top players in tennis are no match for this bug.

A mystery “US Open bug” is making the rounds among star athletes at this year’s tournament, resulting in shocking upsets and withdrawals as the athletes struggle to fight on the court through coughing fits and stomach aches.

I’m a zombie because I have a flu,” Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur, 29, said at a news conference on Thursday after defeating Linda Noskova in three sets.

The No. 5 seed was visibly unwell during the match, and was seen coughing and sometimes even struggling to reach the ball on difficult shots.

“I’m taking a lot of medicine,” the No. 5 seed admitted at the conference, adding that she “basically took every medication” the tournament doctors could offer.

Jabeur – who was upset by Zheng Qinwen of China over the weekend – is one of many players felled by the so-called “US Open bug” since the tournament opened at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Aug. 28.

Ons Jabeur struggled through three sets on Thursday.

I got the us open bug.. in a way still feels like I’m in the tournament but at home,” Tennys Sandgren, 32, who failed to advance past the qualifiers, tweeted on Thursday.

“Def a bug going around [at the Open,” he added in a separate post.

Also on Thursday, Polish player Hubert Hurkacz,  26, struggled on the court and was treated by medical staff before ultimately falling to Jack Draper, the New York Times reported.

During the match, sniffs, coughs, and other signs of illness were heard throughout the tennis grounds, the outlet added.

Dominic Thiem collapsed over the net due to stomach issues on the court last week.Getty Images