French Open star suffers horror fall and bursts into tears as paramedics rush to court | Tennis | Sport

Hailey Baptiste suffered a nasty fall during her second-round clash with Xiyu Wang at the French Open and had to retire on the spot. Wang was serving at 5-4 in the opening set and they had played a long game with several deuces when the 26th seed suddenly stepped backwards and dropped to the ground in pain, wailing and crying.

A member of her team immediately jumped out of the stands on the small Court 6, but Baptiste repeatedly told him to “stop” when he tried to touch her. The American sobbed on the ground and asked “why?” as the umpire came over, and medics were soon called to the court.

Chair umpire Marija Cicak walked away again, appearing to call for medical help, and Wang joined Baptiste and her coach at the back of the court to check on her opponent. The umpire came back as Baptiste continued to sob and ask not to be moved, and Cicak had a chat with her coach.

The umpire stayed with Baptiste, holding her shoulder and speaking with her as her coach watched while standing on the court. A physio came and started speaking to the No. 26 seed, who, by this point, had sat up.

Cicak then took Baptiste’s racket back to her bench and went over to Wang to keep her updated with what was happening. The medics arrived a few minutes later, and there was applause as the umpire and physio helped Baptiste to her feet.

But the 24-year-old still seemed unable to put any weight on her leg and continued to sob as she spoke to the physio, umpire and referee. Behind them, the paramedics set up a wheelchair.

Baptiste was still crying as she got into the wheelchair and covered her face with a towel. There was another round of applause as she was wheeled off the court.

The umpire went back to her bench to pack her things, and one of Baptiste’s coaches joined her, taking her bags off the court. Wang then came to shake hands with Cicak before leaving the court herself, winning 5-4 Ad-40 ret.

This comes at a horrible time for Baptiste, who has been in fine form during the clay season and stunned world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the Madrid Open semi-finals.

Wang is through to the third round and will face Yuliia Starodubtseva, who shocked world No. 2 Elena Rybakina earlier on Wednesday.