Hailey Baptiste suffered a horrific knee injury at the French Open when she was forced into a wheelchair

Hailey Baptiste saw her French Open campaign come to a heartbreaking end after suffering a serious injury during her second round match in Paris. The American, who is making her first career start as a seed at Roland Garros, entered the tournament on a high after an impressive opening-round win over two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejčík.

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Facing qualifier Wang Xinyu in the second round, Baptiste was trailing 4-5 in the first set when disaster struck. During a deuce on Wang’s serve, the 24-year-old raced a return past the baseline before losing her footing and collapsing awkwardly on the clay.

Baptiste immediately clutched her left knee in visible agony, causing concern for both the head referee and her father, who quickly ran towards the court as it quickly became apparent that the injury was serious. Medical personnel soon arrived to assess the situation, and after a brief examination, Baptiste was unable to continue. She left court in tears as she was helped into a wheelchair.

Hailey Baptiste looks badly injured and cries on the court as doctors check on her. It could be an ACL injury, but nothing has been confirmed yet pic.twitter.com/4Wox32LMsa— The Tennis Goat (@thettennisgoat) May 27, 2026

Although no official medical reports were released immediately after the match, the nature of the fall raised concerns of a possible serious knee injury. The setback comes at a cruel time for Baptiste, who was enjoying the best stretch of her professional career.

Just a few weeks earlier, she had achieved the biggest victory of her career defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenkova on her way to the first WTA 1000 semifinal in Madrid. That breakout run earlier this month moved her to 25th in her career.

Now the growing American could face a long recovery period, with fears already growing that surgery may be necessary.

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Published on:

May 28, 2026 0:52 AM IST