Rising American Hailey Baptiste confirmed her season is over on Friday, two days after sustaining major leg injuries during the second round of the French Open.
“Still waiting to wake up from this nightmare,” Baptiste said on Instagram. “In my head, all I can think is why, why, and why. Why me? Why now? And why like this?”
According to her agent, Baptiste sustained ACL and meniscus injuries and will require surgery.
Baptiste, ranked No. 26 in the world, was injured during a match against China’s Wang Xiyu when she landed awkwardly after hitting a forehand shot. She grabbed for her left knee, writhed in pain on the court and was eventually taken off the court on a wheelchair.
“It’s hard to see any purpose in something like this right now, but in my heart, I truly believe everything happens for a reason,” Baptiste wrote. “It’s been a long and heavy couple of days filled with bad news, uncontrollable tears, and a million thoughts running through my head.
“This new, but somewhat familiar, challenge faces me with what will probably be one of the hardest chapters of my life, and I’m beyond ready to show how strong I really am.”
Baptiste, 24, finishes 2026 with an 18-13 record. Just last month, she notched the biggest win of her career by upsetting World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Open. She lost to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the semis.
Baptiste also reached the semifinals at Abu Dhabi in February before losing to Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. She advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals in March before losing to Sabalenka.
Baptiste was slated to play doubles with Venus Williams at Roland Garros but the pair withdrew Thursday, one day after Baptiste’s devastating injury.
–Field Level Media
