Wimbledon star releases emotional statement after retiring on verge of winning match
Madison Keys has explained her sudden retirement at Wimbledon.
American Wimbledon star Madison Keys has broken her silence after she was forced to retire in tears while serving for the match against Jasmine Paolini.
Leading 5-4 and serving in the decider, Keys called a medical time-out only to return with heavy strapping on her hamstring, before retiring when she was broken by Paolini, who advanced to the quarter-finals.
Keys has since explained on X (formerly known as Twitter) that leaving the court early was one of her "toughest moments" in tennis and will undergo a scan to determine the next steps on her recovery from injury.
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"Well... The ending of yesterday's match was probably one of my toughest moments ever on court," Keys wrote. "Unfortunately during the match, I injured my hamstring. I'll be getting an MRI soon to see exactly what happened and what the severity of the injury is.
"I have a lot of mixed emotions that my Wimbledon ended like this and really appreciate all the nice messages I've gotten. Time to go home and get better."
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Keys spent over seven minutes off the court after calling for a break in play, but was clearly in discomfort when she attempted to play on, handing the win to Paolini who was gracious after setting up a quarter-final with Emma Navarro.
“Now I am so sorry for her, to end the match like this is bad," the Italian said in her on-court interview after hugging Keys and applauding her off. "What can I say? I think we played a really good match, was really tough, lots of up and downs. I am feeling a little bit happy but also sad for her because it’s not easy to win like that but I hope you (the crowd) enjoyed the match.
“It was really close, I started really well but she had great tennis, she’s a great competitor, she raised her level and it was tough to return balls because they were really fast but I was repeating to myself that you never know in tennis and at the end, somehow she retired but I am here with the win."
Keys was one of seven Americans competing in the fourth round at Wimbledon, an impressive year for the Stateside contingent, and knew she would have played another compatriot if injury had not derailed her campaign and prevailed against Paolini.
Instead, Paolini will face Navarro for a place in the semi-finals after second seed Coco Gauff was the latest big name to fall at SW19 on Sunday.