Over the years, we have seen many courageous examples of fighting spirit on the court. However, nothing would match the display shown by Madison Keys today. The American tennis star was up against Jasmine Paolini in the pre-quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. While she was leading 5-2 in the deciding set, Keys suffered a groin injury and held it in pain.

Nonetheless, Keys decided to continue despite being in immense pain. She went on to lose the next two games and at 5-4, Keys received a 9-minute match timeout and subsequently, came back with a strapping on her thigh. However, she still looked like things hurt a bit too much and when the match was tied at 5-5 in the deciding set, Keys opted to finally retire with unbearable pain. The American star was reduced to tears as her Wimbledon Championships campaign suffered a heart-breaking end.

Keys was one of the United States’ best hopes to dig deep at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. However, injury troubles cropped up again as she had to pull out of the match after being agonizingly close to winning it. Earlier, Keys gave her all to level the match after losing the first set 6-3. She won a hard-fought second set in the tiebreaker 7-6 (8-6) before continuing the momentum to take a 5-2 lead in the third set.

However, it wasn’t meant to be Keys’ day as a groin injury ended her Wimbledon dream this year. It was tough to digest for the American star as tears rolled down her eyes, with her fans left heartbroken. On the other hand, it was contrasting emotions on the other side of the court as Paolini reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal. Despite this feat, she kept her emotions in check as she consoled Keys after their encounter.

Jasmine Paolini feels sorry for Madison Keys

In what was a see-saw battle, the match was right in the balance when Keys announced her withdrawal from the match. As she got emotional due to her injury affecting her chances in the tournament, Paolini consoled her and wished her a speedy recovery.

During the post-match interview, the Italian star said, “I’m very sorry for her. It’s sad. Really good match. Really tough, lots of ups and downs. I feel a bit happy but also sad for her because it’s not easy to win like that. I hope you enjoyed the match.”

Paolini is having a dream run this year, having made the finals at the French Open earlier this year. Talking about her performance today, she mentioned, “Rollercoaster. I started really well and was really focused on court but she’s a great player and she raised her level so it was tough to return balls. I was repeating to stay in there, you never know in tennis. At the end somehow, I know she retired, but I’m here with the win.”

The Italian star will face the winner of the match between Coco Gauff and Emma Navarro. Can Paolini go one step ahead and win her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.