French Open star pulls out at last minute and apologises in surprise press conference | Tennis | Sport

French star Arthur Fils has withdrawn from the French Open. The world No. 19 suddenly moved his pre-tournament press conference forward and announced that he would not be able to compete this year. There had already been fears over whether Fils would be fit enough to play after retiring just 22 minutes into his opening match at the Italian Open two weeks ago with a hip injury.

The 21-year-old had not been seen practising in Paris until very recently, and was due to face fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in a practice set on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Saturday afternoon, during Yannick Noah Day at the French Open. Fils was initially meant to address the media at 2pm local time, but this was pushed back to 5.30pm local time, to take place after the practice set.

However, Fils suddenly arrived at 4pm local time and made an announcement before addressing the media, confirming his withdrawal and apologising for not being able to compete. “Just quick, I have to say something quickly, I’m not going to be able to play here this year,” the world No. 19 said. “It’s a shame, of course. I’m very sorry about it, and yeah, that’s it.”

The French ace also pulled out of Roland Garros last year, ahead of his third round match. He was clearly already injured when he dug out a five-set win over Jaume Munar in the second round and later withdrew from the tournament. It emerged that Fils had a stress fracture in his back. With the exception of the Canadian Open in July 2025, Fils did not play again until February of this year. And he didn’t want to take anymore risks in Paris.

“Well, in Rome I felt a little bit like around the hip, you know, pain. Was bothering me a lot. I didn’t want to take any risk in Rome. Then after, I did some exam. Everything were looking pretty fine, but still a lot of pain. So I was not able to practice for the last two weeks. Actually, the practice today was my first-ever points since two weeks in Rome. Yeah, you know, I will not be fit 100 per cent to play the tournament, and I will not take any risk like I did last year. I don’t want to be stupid, you know,” he explained.

Fils still isn’t sure on exactly what this injury is, but says he first felt it during a pre-tournament practice session in Rome. He also confirmed it wasn’t related to the stress fracture in his back that derailed his 2025 season. “I can’t expect anything, I can’t explain anything, because even me, I don’t know,” he said.

“You know, it’s just pain, pain that bothering me. And when I step on the court, it just here. It’s never going somewhere. If it was the last tournament of my life, I will have played, but now that I have 10 more years, 15 more years, I cannot do every time the same mistake.

“For sure it’s not the same as last year. It’s not. Then after, I don’t know if it’s, like, the lower, lower back or if it’s the hip or the psoas. I don’t know. It’s this area that bothering me since couple of weeks, but I can’t say it now, because I don’t even know myself. I don’t know.”

It’s a huge blow for the home favourite, who had been one of the most in-form players on the clay and had a 9-1 record on the surface this year, before his Rome withdrawal. He lifted the trophy in Barcelona and reached the semi-finals in Madrid, losing only to Jannik Sinner.

Fils had been due to face retiring Stan Wawrinka, the former world No. 3 and 2015 champion, in what is Wawrinka’s final appearance at Roland Garros. He has now been replaced by lucky loser Jesper de Jong. The world No. 19 didn’t know if he could have come through a couple of rounds, but knew he couldn’t play a full match pain-free and knew it wasn’t worth pushing himself.

He continued: “I felt it coming. Then I did everything I could to be prepared to play this tournament. But then, if you don’t practice, for two weeks I haven’t practised, even when one doesn’t practice, one can always feel some pain. This is what I felt. I thought about it, and I wondered, ‘Would I only play for one round or two rounds? Am I ready for everything?’ I know the answer. The answer is to aim for a deep run. I know I can do it, but I wouldn’t be 100 per cent. I’m not even at 50 per cent of my normal shape right now, so I don’t want to take any risk.

“I couldn’t hold my own for three hours in a row. If, after 20 minutes, I feel such pain, then it’s unbearable. Then, as I said earlier, were it the last tournament in my life, I could take some painkillers, and then the show would go on. But if I hurt so much after 20 minutes and I play five sets, I would never hold my own. That’s why we discussed this with my team afterwards, and they said it’s a pity, because you play well, but it’s not possible for me. It’s unbearable.”

Fils is now hoping to be back in time for the grass season, which begins in June. “All is well. It’s not the end of it. You know, I’m fine. It’s just that I’m hurt. I’m trying to do the best job possible to play on grass. It’s not a disaster,” he added.

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