Coco Gauff Joins US Tennis Stars Ousted from 2025 Miami Open

Date:

USC star sophomore JuJu Watkins suffered a serious injury in the No. 1-seed Trojans’ second-round March Madness win over No. 9-seed Mississippi State on Monday, putting a dismal stamp on the final day of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament’s first weekend.

After taking contact from two defenders midway through the first quarter, a visibly distraught Watkins crumbled to the court with a season-ending ACL tear in her right knee. The season’s second-leading Division I scorer will soon undergo surgery before beginning rehabilitation.

“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu lying on the floor and crying,” said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb afterwards. “This is a human game, so I obviously tried my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot.”

The arena mirrored Gottlieb’s reaction, a testament to Watkins’s impact on the USC community.

“You cannot tell me the energy of that crowd, and how sort of angry they were with the other team, and how much fire they showed for our team, is so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to the city,” added Gottlieb. “And you just want to give it all back.”

A National Player of the Year

Read more…

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Latest News

More like this
Related

Sabalenka on PTPA lawsuit: Players deserve a bigger slice of the prize money!

In a recent comment on the PTPA lawsuit against...

Obsessed hater comes to Iga Swiatek’s Miami practice, shouts personal insults

Iga Swiatek went through a very unpleasant situation...

Zheng Qinwen gets job done to set up QF vs ‘nigthmare rival’ Aryna Sabalenka

Zheng Qinwen continues with her resurgence at the...

Retirement wasn’t for her: Alize Cornet comes back after 10 months!

Alize Cornet’s retirement from professional tennis seemed to be...