Beatriz Haddad Maia leaves Wimbledon in tears after injury forces retirement during 4R clash against Elena Rybakina

Beatriz Haddad Maia broke down into tears after her impressive campaign at Wimbledon came to an abrupt end. She was forced to retire from her fourth-round clash against Elena Rybakina due to an injury.

Haddad Maia, who attained her career-high ranking of No. 10, almost a month back, was in smooth form as she made her way to her maiden fourth round at Wimbledon. The Brazilian was hopeful of giving a tough fight to the defending champion in the fourth round. However, things went downhill when she winced in pain while hitting a backhand in the middle of the first set.

Beatriz Haddad Maia called for the physio to check on her and even left the court to receive further treatment. She returned after some time, hoping to continue her fight for a place in the quarterfinals of the prestigious tournament. Despite her best efforts, Haddad Maia shed tears as she eventually retired from the match midway with Rybakina leading 4-1.

Rybakina and Haddad Maia shared a light embrace with the crowd trying their best to show support for the Brazilian.

Reflecting on her opponent's injury after the match, Elena Rybakina hoped that the injury was not serious and wished her a good recovery.

“It’s never easy to finish the match like this," she stated. "I hope it’s nothing serious. How I understood, it was just 1 moment & really unlock for Beatriz. Hopefully, she gets better."

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Elena Rybakina advances to her second QF, to take on either Petra Kvitova or Ons Jabeur

Day Two: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

Perhaps not the way she expected, but Elena Rybakina has qualified for her second Wimbledon quarterfinals. The defending champion will now take on either former champion Petra Kvitova or Ons Jabeur in the fight for a place in the semifinals of the tournament.

Since dropping the first set of her first-round match against Shelby Rogers, the Moscow-born is yet to drop another set in the tournament. In the second round, Rybakina beat former Australian Open quarterfinalist, Alize Cornet, 6-2, 7-6(2). She followed it up with another win over British No. 1 Katie Boulter, 6-1, 6-1.

Since making her main draw debut in 2021, Elena Rybakina has now won 14 matches out of 15, a feat which was earlier achieved by tennis great Billie Jean King and former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova. The Kazakhstani has lost only one match since her debut, against Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.