A British tennis player came to the rescue of a Wimbledon ball boy who was taken ill during a match, giving him an energy drink and candy

• Jodie Burrage came to the rescue of a sick ball boy at Wimbledon on Monday.
• The Brit rushed to grab the boy an energy drink and fed him candy as he sat ill courtside.

Great Britain's Jodie Burrage rushed to help a ball boy who was taken unwell during her first-round defeat at Wimbledon on Monday.

The youngster fell ill early in the second set, and Burrage rushed to grab him a drink from the fridge behind the umpire's chair and an energy gel from her bag.

The 23-year-old then watched over him for several minutes and fed him candy provided by a spectator before medical assistance arrived and escorted him off the court.

"I just reacted how I think anyone would," she told reporters after her match. "He was not in a good spot. I just tried to help him out as much as possible."

Burrage said that the ball boy had told her he was feeling "really faint."

"I was just like, 'This kid needs sugar.' Someone just shouted on the side, 'Got some sweets here if you want,'" she added.

"He couldn't actually really talk. It was quite distressing to see," she said. "I've fainted a few times. I actually had a panic attack once in juniors here, so I've been where he is. I kind of know a little bit how he was feeling. So I just tried to help as much as I could. Hopefully I did."

The All England Club later confirmed that the ball boy was "fine."

World No. 141 Burrage was beaten in straight sets by Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko on the day.

Tsurenko plays her compatriot Anhelina Kalinina in the second round on Wednesday, and the 33-year-old hopes to use the occasion to remind people watching that the Russian invasion of their country is still ongoing.

"We just want to remind that Ukraine is in trouble, and we need help," Tsurenko said Monday. "I think as many appearances we have, like in sport, for example, for me, it's just another way to show that we are strong nation and to remind the world that we are here and we still have war and, I don't know, in some way, we need help.

"We still need help to win this war."