LONDON — Police are investigating claims that a rising British tennis star was deliberately poisoned during last month's Wimbledon championships, officials said Thursday.
Gabriella Taylor, 18, was forced to pull out of the quarter finals of the junior girls' competition after coming down with a mystery illness that put her in the emergency room for four days.
London's Metropolitan Police confirmed Thursday that officers were investigating "an allegation of poisoning with intent to endanger life."
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<figcaption class="img-caption img-caption_default no-margin-bottom">Gabriella Taylor plays a backhand during her first round match at Wimbledon on July 3. Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
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</figure> "It is unknown where or when the poison was ingested," police said. "There have been no arrests and inquiries continue."
Taylor's family told the BBC and the Daily Telegraph that the matter was being investigated by police. The Telegraph reported that Taylor was diagnosed with a rare strain of Leptospirosis, which can be transmitted through rat urine.
"The bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident," her mother, Milena Taylor, told the newspaper. "Her bags with her drinks in were often left unattended in the players' lounge and someone could have taken the opportunity to contaminate her drink."
The teenager is ranked 381 in the world, up from 1020 at the end of 2015, according to the International Tennis Federation.
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There had even been speculation that Taylor might have been poisoned by a criminal syndicate looking to bet on her match, but Rupert Adams, a spokesman for bookmaker William Hill, said there was no market for such activity.
“No high street bookmakers opened a book on junior Wimbledon and it would be incredibly difficult to do because of limited knowledge of the market. Even if there were such a market, it would be so small that a bet of £25 would be out of the ordinary. It just wouldn’t pay enough for a punter to make a betting coup.”
Scotland Yard confirmed on Wednesday that it was carrying out an investigation into the allegations of poisoning “with intent to endanger life/cause GBH”.
The allegation of poisoning was received by officers on 5 August, according to the force, which said the incident took place at an address in Wimbledon between 1 and 10 July.
A police statement, which did not name Taylor, said: “The victim was taken ill on 6 July. It is unknown where or when the poison was ingested. The victim, an 18-year-old woman, received hospital treatment and is still recovering. No arrests, inquiries continue.”
A Wimbledon spokeswoman said the organisation could not comment during an ongoing police investigation
Gabriella Taylor, 18, was forced to pull out of the quarter finals of the junior girls' competition after coming down with a mystery illness that put her in the emergency room for four days.
London's Metropolitan Police confirmed Thursday that officers were investigating "an allegation of poisoning with intent to endanger life."
<figure class="img_full">
<figcaption class="img-caption img-caption_default no-margin-bottom">Gabriella Taylor plays a backhand during her first round match at Wimbledon on July 3. Shaun Botterill / Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure> "It is unknown where or when the poison was ingested," police said. "There have been no arrests and inquiries continue."
Taylor's family told the BBC and the Daily Telegraph that the matter was being investigated by police. The Telegraph reported that Taylor was diagnosed with a rare strain of Leptospirosis, which can be transmitted through rat urine.
"The bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident," her mother, Milena Taylor, told the newspaper. "Her bags with her drinks in were often left unattended in the players' lounge and someone could have taken the opportunity to contaminate her drink."
The teenager is ranked 381 in the world, up from 1020 at the end of 2015, according to the International Tennis Federation.
**********************************************************************************************************
There had even been speculation that Taylor might have been poisoned by a criminal syndicate looking to bet on her match, but Rupert Adams, a spokesman for bookmaker William Hill, said there was no market for such activity.
“No high street bookmakers opened a book on junior Wimbledon and it would be incredibly difficult to do because of limited knowledge of the market. Even if there were such a market, it would be so small that a bet of £25 would be out of the ordinary. It just wouldn’t pay enough for a punter to make a betting coup.”
Scotland Yard confirmed on Wednesday that it was carrying out an investigation into the allegations of poisoning “with intent to endanger life/cause GBH”.
The allegation of poisoning was received by officers on 5 August, according to the force, which said the incident took place at an address in Wimbledon between 1 and 10 July.
A police statement, which did not name Taylor, said: “The victim was taken ill on 6 July. It is unknown where or when the poison was ingested. The victim, an 18-year-old woman, received hospital treatment and is still recovering. No arrests, inquiries continue.”
A Wimbledon spokeswoman said the organisation could not comment during an ongoing police investigation
