Sloane Stephens reacted with heartbreak to the news of Hailey Baptiste’s devastating leg injury that occurred during her bout against Wang Xiyu at the 2026 Roland Garros. The injuy pushed Baptiste to tears and ultimately made her retire during the second round. The entire tennis community has now rallied behind the hope of seeing Baptiste successfully recover from the setback and wishes to see her back on the court soon.
The No. 26-seeded Baptiste walked onto Court 6 to play her second-round match against Xiya Wang on Wednesday. Wang took control right from the start by breaking the American’s serve early. With the score at 5-4 in favor of the Chinese, disaster struck for Baptiste, who went for a jumping forehand but awkwardly landed on the ground. The American’s left knee took the brunt of the fall, prompting Baptiste to collapse backwards.
The gruesome hit led her to tears and screams as her dad tried to get to her by jumping off the stands, but was ultimately stopped by security. The umpire called for an immediate medical check as Baptiste lay sobbing, while Wang also went ahead to check on her opponent. After a brief examination, the American was put in a wheelchair with a towel wrapped around her face and escorted to a medical facility.
As the tennis community reacted with shock, Sloane Stephens too joined the wagon and shared her thoughts, descibing how traumatizing it was to hear Baptiste’s screams.
“That is absolutely devastating and heartbreaking. I took my earpiece out because I don’t want to hear this. It’s so painful, and it hurts so bad for Haley because it’s the best tennis she’s ever played in her career. But seeing that video and hearing her scream, it’s just nothing that… You don’t wish that on your worst nightmare.”
Hailey Baptiste Talks About Her Three Favorite Tennis Moments
The injury could not have come at a worse time for Hailey Baptiste, as the American had broken into the Top-30 for the first time in her career just this year. She reached the semifinals of the Madrid Open, and collaborated with Nike for the first time at the 2026 French Open thanks to her rise in the rankings.
During an interview recently, Baptiste had mentioned her top three favorite moments that defined her profile in tennis.
“I would say: Winning my first title, the ITF title. Second moment, maybe qualifying for Roland-Garros for the first time, that was amazing. Third I would say: beating Madison Keys in D.C,” she said.
It remains to be seen what diagnosis the American is handed by the medical team and for how long this injury will keep her off the court.
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