By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, May 23, 2026
Photo credit: Matthew Calvis
Arthur Fils experienced the glory and gory at the 2025 Roland Garros.
Today, Fils’ French Open ended before it began.
French star Fils, who was scheduled to face former champion Stan Wawrinka in tomorrow’s blockbuster opening round, officially withdrew from Roland Garros today due to a hip injury he sustained in Rome.
The 19th-ranked Fils, who enjoys massive support on home soil, said the hip injury prevented him from practicing.
“Well, in Rome I felt a little bit like around the hip, you know, pain,” Fils told the media at Roland Garros. “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.”
One of the sport’s most explosive young players, Fils reached the Doha final in February where he was blown out by Carlos Alcaraz. The Frenchman bounced back in a big way. Fils reached the Indian Wells quarterfinals, a pair of ATP Masters 1000 semifinals in Miami and Madrid and knocked off 2025 Roland Garros semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti, rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar and Andrey Rublev in succession to capture his fourth career championship on the red clay of Barcelona.
Still, memories of his electrifying five-set win over Jaume Munar in the Roland Garros second round resonated with Fils in his decision to withdraw. Fils suffered a back injury in that memorable win that limited him to just two matches the rest of the 2025 season.
“Yeah, you know, I will not be fit 100% to play the tournament, and I will not take any risk like I did last year,” Fils said. “I don’t want to be stupid, you know (smiling). So, yeah.”
A supreme athlete who owns one of the heaviest forehands in the game, Fils said he feels he’s not even at 50 percent health today.
“I felt it coming. Then I did everything I could to be prepared to play this tournament,” Fils said. “But then, if you don’t practice, for two weeks I haven’t practiced, 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%. I’m not even at 50% of my normal shape right now, so I don’t want to take any risk.”
Yannik Noah, who dethroned defending champion Mats Wilander in a superb serve-and-volley clinic in the 1983 Roland Garros final, remains the last Frenchman to win the French Open.