Rong “Krystal” Niu, the acrobat known as Red Panda, suffered a severe fracture to her left wrist during her halftime performance at the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final Tuesday night at Target Center.
Niu’s agent, Patrick Figley, gave an update Wednesday after Niu was hospitalized after the fall at the WNBA’s midseason championship game between the Lynx and the Indiana Fever.
According to a statement from Figley, the fall occurred because of a damaged left pedal on her unicycle, which was compromised during transit.
Niu broke her wrist after falling from her custom-built 7-foot unicycle seconds into her performance. Figley said she spent 11 hours at a Minneapolis hospital after she was helped off the court in a wheelchair Tuesday night. Two Lynx staffers remained with her at the hospital, and she underwent a medical procedure. Figley said the wrist had been broken before.
Niu, who is in her 50s, returned to her home in San Francisco, Figley said, and is likely to meet with an orthopedic surgeon for the next stage of treatment.
Niu performs on the road with 50 gigs a year or more, flipping bowls with her foot to her head, sometimes kicking five bowls at a time onto the growing pile. She travels alone with a set of wrenches and the unicycle, which disassembles into four pieces.
Figley said Niu wanted to thank everyone for the outpouring of love. Among those well-wishers was Fever star Caitlin Clark, who said, “Red Panda, we love you,” in an Instagram video during her team’s locker room celebration of the Commissioner’s Cup.
“She much appreciates from her heart the support she is receiving,” Figley’s statement read. “We’ll keep all posted.”
