Arthur Fils, a professional tennis player from France, has withdrawn from the Roland Garros tournament due to a back injury. The announcement came on Friday, and Fils provided further details about his condition on Saturday.
“I had some issue with the back since a long time and during the match against Munar it [got] worse,” explained Fils. He experienced difficulties during his five-set second-round victory over Jaume Munar. Following medical examinations, he was diagnosed with a stress fracture.
Fils elaborated on the decision made with his team: “[I] got some stress fracture. What we decide with the team it was better to stop now, because if I’m stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks. If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months.”
Before withdrawing from Roland Garros, Fils achieved victories over Nicolas Jarry and Munar but had to concede his third-round match against Andrey Rublev.
The 20-year-old is now assessing whether he can participate in Wimbledon, which begins on June 30th. “I don’t think I’m going to have to undergo surgery. I don’t think so,” said Fils regarding his recovery prospects. “As for the grass season, I don’t know yet. We’ll see if I can be ready for Wimbledon.”
Fils emphasized that he does not want to rush his return: “I’m only 20 years old. I don’t want to be in a hurry on the tour.” He aims to be prepared for the hard-court season later this year.
Currently ranked No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and holding a 21-10 record this season according to Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Fils’ best performance so far was reaching the semi-finals in Barcelona.