Detectives Investigating Poisoning at Wimbledon

By ESPN

Detectives are investigating allegations that a British player at the Wimbledon tennis tournament was poisoned, after she fell ill with a bacterial infection that can be spread through rat urine, London's Metropolitan Police said Thursday.

Gabriella Taylor was playing in the junior tournament when she became sick July 6 and had to drop out.

Her mother, Milena Taylor, said the 18-year-old was hospitalized in intensive care and diagnosed with leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread by animals.

Milena Taylor told the Daily Telegraph that "the bacteria the infection team found is so rare in Britain that we feel this could not have been an accident." She said Gabrielle "was staying in a completely healthy environment" during the tournament and would not likely have been accidentally exposed to the bacteria.

Metropolitan Police said detectives are investigating "an allegation of poisoning with intent to endanger life" or cause bodily harm. It said the incident was "alleged to have taken place at an address in Wimbledon" between July 1 and July 10.

The force said no one had been arrested, and police are awaiting medical information about what, if any, poison was involved.