Basel "marks end of the line" for retiring Stan Wawrinka; back pain cuts his Rome qualifying bid short

Hailey Baptiste suffered a devastating end to her Roland Garros campaign on Wednesday after an awkward landing on a forehand during her second-round match left her screaming in pain and forced her to retire in tears.

Now, the fast-rising American is facing a long road back after an update from her camp revealed the extent of her injuries.

Her agent, Jill Smoller, confirmed to Tennis Channel’s Jim Courier on Thursday that Baptiste suffered injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee.

While Courier did not detail the severity of the injuries, Baptiste is set to undergo surgery “soon” and is expected to be out for “six months, minimum” during her recovery.

"News from Jill Smoller was not good,” journalist Chris Oddo shared on X. “ACL, Meniscus issues, surgery is incoming soon and we're hearing six months, minimum, off tour."

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It’s a brutal update for the 24-year-old, who appeared to finally have everything clicking as she played the best tennis of her career in 2026.

Baptiste reached a career-high ranking of world No. 25 earlier this month after a series of breakthrough results. She advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Miami, then went one round further in Madrid, where she stunned world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka en route to the semifinals.

Her strong results and rising ranking also helped Baptiste secure an apparel sponsorship deal with Nike just days before the clay-court Grand Slam began.

She arrived at Roland Garros full of momentum after announcing herself to the tennis world there one year ago with a run to the fourth round—her first appearance in the second week of a major.

This year, the No. 26 seed opened with a gritty 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6), 6-2 win over former champion Barbora Krejcikova before facing Wang Xiyu in the second round.

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Hailey Baptiste stuns Aryna Sabalenka for first win over world No. 1 | Madrid Highlights

With Wang leading by a break and serving for the set at 5-4, one of Wang’s shots took an unexpected bounce near the baseline, pulling Baptiste out of position as she attempted to switch from offense to defense in midair. She landed awkwardly and immediately crumpled to the ground in agony.

Baptiste could be heard sobbing and screaming “Why?” and “What did I do?” on the broadcast microphones as she clutched her left leg.

Heartbreaking scenes followed as her father, Qasim Baptiste, rushed onto the court after seeing his daughter go down in distress. He was soon told to “stop” by Hailey, and chair umpire Marija Cicak guided him away after he attempted to move or touch her leg while comforting her.

Unable to bear weight on her left leg, Baptiste was forced to retire trailing 5-4, Ad-40.

She was eventually helped off the court by paramedics and left in a wheelchair with a towel draped over her head.

Baptiste also withdrew from the Roland Garros women’s doubles draw on Thursday, where she had been set to partner Venus Williams.

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