PARIS - Local hope Gael Monfils will not compete at the French Open later this month as he goes under the knife to fix a problem with his right heel, the Frenchman said on Monday.
The 22nd-ranked Monfils started the year well, winning his 11th ATP tour title in a tune-up event in Adelaide before reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, where he was beaten by Matteo Berrettini. read more He has struggled in recent months, however, failing to go past the round of 16 in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. “Hi all, I regret to inform you that I am forced to withdraw from Open Parc de Lyon and the French Open next week,” Monfils, the highest-ranked French player, wrote on Twitter.
“I have been bothered by a calcaneal spur since Monte-Carlo at my right heel which prevents me from moving properly on court. I have decided to undergo a small procedure this week to treat the issue before returning to competitive play.” Monfils, 35, reached the last four at the 2008 French Open and repeated the feat eight years later at the 2016 U.S. Open but has never reached a Grand Slam final. The French Open begins on May 22.
BRITON ROBSON CALLS
TIME ON CAREER DUE TO INJURY ISSUES
Britain’s former junior Wimbledon champion and Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist Laura Robson announced her retirement on Monday due to persistent injury problems.
A former world number 27, Robson lifted the junior crown at the grasscourt Grand Slam as a 14-year-old in 2008 and followed up her success with an Olympic medal partnering Andy Murray at London 2012. The 28-year-old, who made the fourth round at the U.S. Open in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, had a wrist operation in 2014 ago before three hip surgeries derailed her career.
She was last in action at an ITF tournament in 2019. “I went through every possibility of rehab and of surgery,” Robson told the BBC. “I had another hip surgery and probably did the best rehab block of my life ... and then the second time I hit, I just knew. “It feels weird to say out loud, but I’m done, I’m retired. I’ve sort of known that for a while because of what I was told by the doctors last year, but it took me so long to say it to myself, which is why it took me so long to say it officially.”
The 22nd-ranked Monfils started the year well, winning his 11th ATP tour title in a tune-up event in Adelaide before reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, where he was beaten by Matteo Berrettini. read more He has struggled in recent months, however, failing to go past the round of 16 in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. “Hi all, I regret to inform you that I am forced to withdraw from Open Parc de Lyon and the French Open next week,” Monfils, the highest-ranked French player, wrote on Twitter.
“I have been bothered by a calcaneal spur since Monte-Carlo at my right heel which prevents me from moving properly on court. I have decided to undergo a small procedure this week to treat the issue before returning to competitive play.” Monfils, 35, reached the last four at the 2008 French Open and repeated the feat eight years later at the 2016 U.S. Open but has never reached a Grand Slam final. The French Open begins on May 22.
BRITON ROBSON CALLS
TIME ON CAREER DUE TO INJURY ISSUES
Britain’s former junior Wimbledon champion and Olympic mixed doubles silver medallist Laura Robson announced her retirement on Monday due to persistent injury problems.
A former world number 27, Robson lifted the junior crown at the grasscourt Grand Slam as a 14-year-old in 2008 and followed up her success with an Olympic medal partnering Andy Murray at London 2012. The 28-year-old, who made the fourth round at the U.S. Open in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, had a wrist operation in 2014 ago before three hip surgeries derailed her career.
She was last in action at an ITF tournament in 2019. “I went through every possibility of rehab and of surgery,” Robson told the BBC. “I had another hip surgery and probably did the best rehab block of my life ... and then the second time I hit, I just knew. “It feels weird to say out loud, but I’m done, I’m retired. I’ve sort of known that for a while because of what I was told by the doctors last year, but it took me so long to say it to myself, which is why it took me so long to say it officially.”
