Las Vegas Tennis Player Collapses During Match, Dies Suddenly At 43

A lifelong tennis player collapsed on the court and later died during a match in Las Vegas this week.

Doctors reportedly gave medical attention to Ryan Vannah for nearly an hour at Red Rock Country Club, but he was pronounced dead Sunday at Summerlin Hospital. Vannah's sister-in-law, Catherine, performed CPR but to no avail.

Vannah, 43, was playing in a mixed doubles tennis match last Sunday when, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal, he dropped to a knee, placed his hands on the court and laid down.

After 55 minutes of CPR, he was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead.

Ryan Vannah mourned after shocking death during tennis match

A lifelong tennis player who had won the United States Tennis Association 40+ national championship in each of the last two years as part of a doubles team, Vannah's family said he took "impeccable care of his health" but did have a history of high blood pressure.

"He was so fit. He lifted weights. He looked like a bodybuilder to me. He was huge. We did not see this coming," said his sister, Tami Kang.

According to reports, doctors watching the match rushed to perform CPR on Vannah, but, after nearly an hour, his heart never restarted.

While the local coroner’s office has not yet ruled on an official cause and manner of death, according to the Review Journal, doctors and emergency medical staff said they believe Vannah was on the wrong medication for his blood pressure.

Vannah's sudden death is just the latest in a string of bizarre incidents over the past few weeks.

Early last month, Old Dominion sophomore guard Imo Essien collapsed on the court during a game against Georgia Southern. Just days before, another Las Vegas resident - Jordan Tyler Brister - suffered apparent cardiac arrest after PE class at Amplus Academy.

In December, Jake Hescock, who played college football at both UCF and Wisconsin, died suddenly after suffering cardiac arrest while jogging. The former tight end was only 25 years old.

Of course, everyone knows about the Damar Hamlin situation that occurred last month during Monday Night Football.

As OutKick reported last month, these deaths are just the latest in a disturbing trend of younger people dying, especially of cardiac related issues.

Increase in Cardiac Related Deaths Among Young People

According to CDC data, there has been a concerning increase in the amount of young people dying of major cardiovascular diseases.

While it’s uncertain what’s causing the rise, the inability to consider some possibilities has led to censorship and unnecessary labeling.

There was a 25% increase in the rate of deaths caused by major cardiovascular diseases among males aged 15-19 in 2021 than the same cause in 2019. 2020 also saw an increase, although thankfully not quite as substantial.

While there could be any number of reasonable explanations, it’s a concerning trend regardless of underlying cause.

Hopefully this is the last of these types of stories that we hear about for a long, long time.