By Fabio Barera
It was 30 November 2024 when Altuğ Çelikbilek, a Turkish tennis player with a career-high ranking of No. 154, collapsed on court during his semi-final match against fellow countryman Yankı Erel at the M15 tournament in Monastir.
Just one game, then total darkness: a severe headache, collapse on the court and a brain haemorrhage that forced him to be rushed to hospital, where he remained unconscious for 13 days. The cause of it all was a brain tumour, successfully removed, which turned his life upside down and inevitably cut short his career. A year and a half on, the 29-year-old still cannot return to playing tennis due to double vision, but he has not given up hope, as he reiterated to Ubitennis in an exclusive interview. Not least because he now has a four-month-old daughter and a wife, Eliessa Vanlangendonck, who has always been by his side.
Q: First of all, can you tell us what you remember about that match when you fell ill on court? How did you feel before you took ill, and in general, everything you can recall.
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “For me, it was a completely normal day. I didn’t have any negative feelings; it was a match day like any other. I woke up, had breakfast and then went to the club to warm up. After that, I went out onto the court to play the match and everything was proceeding normally. During the match, I started to get a headache whilst warming up. In the first game, the headache got much worse. At that point, I had to stop the match after two or three games.”
“So I left the court. The physios were there and tried to do something to ease the headache, but there wasn’t much they could do. I thought it was just a simple headache. So I took the shuttle and went to the hotel to rest. After vomiting on the shuttle, I somehow made it to the hotel and then I don’t remember at all what happened next, until I woke up in Istanbul.”
Q: When you woke up, how did you feel?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “I woke up, I think 13 days later, in a hospital in Istanbul. To be honest, I don’t remember how I felt. It was as if I’d had a long sleep and woken up. A few hours passed, and I tried to get up or do what I needed to do at that moment. And that’s when I started to feel better. There was still something wrong, though, because my eyes weren’t in the right position. It was due to double vision, which I still have now. I’d also completely lost my balance. What’s more, as I’d been in hospital for 13 days, I’d lost muscle tone throughout my body, so it was quite a difficult situation. But it wasn’t as if I felt I was about to die, which is actually what happened.”
Q: What was the rehabilitation process like?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “My rehabilitation programme consisted of lots of balance exercises. I’d lost all my muscle mass, so I had to train somehow despite having lost my balance. I had to work on rebuilding my muscle mass, walk a lot and do plenty of physical activity. It didn’t tire me out much; I could keep it up. I also had to do lots of eye exercises, which I still do today.”
Q: How important was your family?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “My family has been absolutely vital to me ever since I was in hospital in Tunisia. They all came. My friends and coaches from Istanbul came too. I think my manager, who lives in Germany, also came from Istanbul. There were lots of people there; my Istanbul club, Enka Sport Club, and the Turkish Tennis Federation were there too. The Turkish government actually helped me a great deal as well.”
“There were probably lots of other people there, but during those 13 days I just slept, so I don’t know and I don’t remember who was there for me. But if I have to talk about my family during that time, my girlfriend – who is now my wife and the mother of my little girl – was there from start to finish. My mum and dad were there every single moment too, so I felt their support and they helped me a lot. I still feel it now.”
Q: It’s been over a year now: how are you? Do you have any idea when you might be back on the pitch, based on what the doctors have told you?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “It’s been a year and a half since the accident, and a year and two months since my last operation. Physically, I feel ready to start training again. However, my eyesight isn’t good enough yet to track the ball. That’s why I can’t play tennis. For this reason, I’m taking on the role of tournament director at a Challenger event. I’ll also be involved in an ITF Junior event and a Tennis Europe event. I’ll be the tournament director for all these events, so I’m trying to stay involved in the world of tennis in some way, but unfortunately, at the moment I can’t even play tennis for fun.”
Q: When you return, what will your short-, medium- and long-term goals be?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “Of course I’d like to get back to playing tennis, but at the moment it’s not up to me. It depends on my eyes and my body, obviously. My short-term goal is to manage the tournament as best I can. I also have a job at the Enka Tennis Club. So I’m trying to lend a hand there and contribute to their tennis project. And then I have a four-month-old daughter. I want to spend some time with her and enjoy life together with her.”
Q: In Turkey, there’s Zeynep Sonmez, who’s improving month by month. What can you tell us about her? Have you met her? And above all, how far do you think she can go?
Altuğ Çelikbilek: “Zeynep is a very talented tennis player. She has already achieved one of the best results in Turkish tennis and can reach even greater heights. I’ve known her since she was very young because she trained at the same facility where I trained. There’s a lot to say about her tennis, but I think it’s more important to talk about her character than her tennis. She can be an excellent role model for future Turkish tennis players, thanks to her results and also the way she conducts herself as a person.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview was first published on Ubitennis.com in Italian and has been translated into English.
