Israeli tennis player Dudi Sela on Friday left a match due to Yom Kippur.
Sela gave up midway during his quarter-final clash against Alexander Dolgopolov at the ATP Tour Shenzhen Open when he realized that it was almost sunset and the Yom Kippur fast was about to begin.
The 32-year-old, who’s ranked 77 in the world, lost the first set 6-3, before winning the second 7-5, thereby ensuring a third and deciding set.
Eight minutes into the third set, however, Sela informed the umpire of his decision to retire from the match and left the court.
With his decision, Sela forfeited the chance of reaching the semi-finals. As a result he lost tens of thousands of dollars.
The match was originally to take place on Yom Kippur itself, but pressure from officials in the Israel Tennis Association as well as Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev resulted in a change in the time so that the match started before the fast.
מי כעמך ישראל!
