"Always supporting you" - Sloane Stephens, Frances Tiafoe, Jessica Pegula & others send Madison Keys their best after heartbreaking Wimbledon injury
Madison Keys faced a disappointing end to her Wimbledon campaign as she had to retire during her fourth-round match against Jasmine Paolini. The American posted an update about her injury and received well wishes from her fellow players.
Keys and Paolini have been in impressive form with the Italian reaching the French Open final and both having reached the semifinal of the Rothesay International in Eastbourne. Both had also not lost a set on their way to their fourth-round clash. They went toe-to-toe on Court 1 in a match that could have gone either way.
Paolini outclassed Keys in the first set and won it convincingly. In the second set, the American made an impressive comeback to lead 5-1. However, the 28-year-old matched it by winning four games in a row to make it 5-5. The former US Open runner-up somehow got the job done and forced a decider.
In the decider, Paolini trailed 2-5 before making it 4-5 after which Keys took a medical timeout. The 29-year-old came back and after a game, with tears in her eyes, decided she could not continue with the score at 3-6, 7-6(6), 5-5.
Madison Keys provided an update about her injury on her Instagram account. She revealed that she has suffered a hamstring injury and will get an MRI done to understand its extent. She had "mixed emotions" about how her Wimbledon run ended but appreciated the messages of support.
Many of her colleagues sent their wishes in the comments to her post. Sloane Stephens wrote:
"We love you so much! Always supporting you! ❤️"
Frances Tiafoe, who suffered a third-round exit at Wimbledon, wrote:
"We all witchu sis 🤞🏿🤞🏿🤞🏿"
Jessica Pegula, Desirae Krawjcyk and Laura Robson provided their support with heart emojis while American player Caty McNally wrote:
"Get better soon ❤️🩹"
Jasmine Paolini believes Madison Keys is one of the best players in the world after their Wimbledon 4R battle
After her back-and-forth against Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini sang praises for her opponent, even calling her one of the best players in the world.
Paolini told the press afterward,
"I hope she recovers soon. I think we played a really good match... It was a rollercoaster because I think she's playing unbelievable. I was doing more mistakes, her level was going up. It's not easy to play against her because I think she's one of the best players in the world."
Paolini will take on Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on Tuesday, July 9.