Hailey Baptiste forced to retire from French Open match with left knee injury

PARIS — There was a sad end to the French Open for Hailey Baptiste of the U.S., who has been in strong form this clay-court season.

Baptiste, the No. 26 seed and newly signed to a Nike sponsorship deal, was hitting an inside-out forehand off her back foot against qualifier Wang Xiyu of China when her left knee buckled. Baptiste fell to the ground and, while able to stand up, had to be helped off the court with her left leg being held up horizontally.

As Baptiste lay on the court in pain, her father, Qasim, ran on to the court to comfort her.

The 24-year-old had arrived in Paris on the back of her biggest career win: a thrilling triumph over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open, in which she saved six match points. The hot and dry conditions at Roland Garros are a boon to Baptiste’s game, which is built on a slashing forehand and jumping kick serve, and her opening-match win over Barbora Krejčíková, in which she also saved match points, once again displayed her tenacity.

Wang, who was serving for the first set at 5-4 during the incident, advances to the next round in the way no tennis player wants to win.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Tennis, Women’s Tennis

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