Venus Williams’ Words Ring True as WTA Ex-Pro Spotlights 23YO American Breakout at the French Open

“She’s in the third round. That’s huge.” Venus Williams commented on rising American WTA talent Hailey Baptiste after the 23-year-old made her way into the third round at the French Open. Despite poor form prior to the clay campaign in Paris, the young player has kept her hopes alive to make a deep, impressive run at the Roland Garros. Alongside her compatriots Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, and Amanda Anisimova, Baptiste has now entered the fourth round in Paris. It seems like Venus isn’t the only one who’s highly impressed by the rising talent. Former WTA legend Tracy Austin has now come forward, weighing in on her heroics in this season’s second major.

Baptiste kicked off her French Open journey last week. She witnessed a huge win over solid opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia. Since then, she’s not looked back. In the second round, she ousted Japan’s Nao Hibino. Then in the third round, she took down Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. With that, she secured her fourth-round ticket on the Parisian clay for the first time.

In an episode of the Tennis Channel live podcast, dated June 1, Tracy Austin expressed her honest thoughts to Venus Williams on Baptiste. When asked about which player stood out the most this week in the third round, the ex-WTA pro revealed, “For me, it’s Hailey Baptiste.” Elaborating on her take, she added, “So many of us have been watching her right from the beginning. And it’s been a struggle. It’s been some ups, some downs, but for her to finally put all the talent together, because we know that Haley has so many skills, such a big forehand move, so well, so much energy.”

Lauding Baptiste’s collaboration with coach Eric Hechtman (former ATP pro), Austin continued, “Eric Hechtman is now her coach. And he’s got some tour veteran coaching skills. And everything’s just coming together in the belief that she’s playing with now. It’s instinctive. And sometimes when you have so many options, I didn’t have that many options. It was cross-court or down the line.”

Concluding her remarks, Venus Williams said, “But when she had so many options, she didn’t know exactly which one to use. And so I think she’s just much smarter. Tennis IQ has gone up. She’s playing instinctively. And Haley is in the second week of a major for the first time.”

While Austin has stressed Baptiste’s amazing bond with her coach, there’s someone else as well who’s been by her side, providing key assistance. It’s none other than her ‘brother’ and compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

Hailey Baptiste’s connection with Frances Tiafoe explored beyond Venus Williams’ praises for the 23-year-old

For the uninitiated, Hailey Baptiste and ATP pro Frances Tiafoe share a close bond. They have known each other since childhood while growing up in Washington, D.C. The bond, not bound by blood, deepened thanks to their time together at the Junior Tennis Champions Center. Over the years, both of them have been seen admiring each other on various instances. Tiafoe calls Baptiste ‘Lil Sis.’

Earlier this season, Baptiste helped Team USA to qualify for the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup’s main draw. Seeing this, the American ATP star couldn’t resist dropping his reaction. Sharing a clip in which the 23-year-old was seen hitting an amazing shot, Tiafoe wrote in an IG story, “Wonder where you learned this from good work @haileybaptiste.”

But it’s not just him who expresses his support for Baptiste. Even she does the same while throwing a spotlight on her brother-from-another-mother. A few days back, she revealed how Tiafoe and his twin brother, Franklin, inspired her to improve as a tennis player. In an interaction with Roland Garros’ website, dated May 30, she began, “After school he would hit with me for an hour, two hours; we’d just hit and talk, so we developed a real closeness and on the weekend we hung out pretty much every weekend; me, Frances and Franklin would go to the movies, bowling, whatever.”

Continuing further, she added, “They’ve been my brothers for as long as I can remember. So I always look to them for advice. A buddy, a friend, hang out, bored, do whatever—they were always my first call.” Weighing in more on Frances Tiafoe’s impact, she said, “The success he’s had is just amazing.”

Tiafoe has shined in recent years with his rise into the top 10. Plus, he even made it to the semis at the US Open twice in the last three years. Baptiste concluded, “We’ve had some tough losses, and have been down, but we can always go back to each other and say, ‘Maybe that loss sucked, but look at where we are.’” Speaking of her tennis, Baptiste is now in R16 at the French Open. And guess what? Tiafoe has entered the fourth round as well.

While the ATP pro will face Germany’s Daniel Altmaier next, Baptiste will go against compatriot Madison Keys on Monday. Do you think they both will eventually make a deep run at the French Open this time? Let us know in the comments below.

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