Injured Arthur Fils announced his withdrawal from this year's Roland-Garros on Saturday in Paris.
World No. 19 Arthur Fils will miss his home Grand Slam, the French Open, due to an ongoing hip injury sustained two weeks ago in Rome.
During a press conference held on Saturday, the 21-year-old outlined: "I will not be fit 100 percent to play the tournament, and I will not take any risk like I did last year."
"It's a shame, of course. I'm very sorry about it," added the four-time ATP title holder.
The singles men's draw revealed on Thursday a high-caliber first-round match, featuring Fils and former champion Stan Wawrinka, launching his 21st and final Roland-Garros appearance in his farewell season.
Following the young French player's withdrawal, lucky loser Jesper de Jong will replace him in the main draw to face the three-time major champion on the legendary Parisian red clay.
Addressing the injury that forced him to miss the venue, he commented:“In Rome, I felt pain around the hip, was bothering me a lot. Then, after, I did some examinations. Everything was looking pretty fine, but still a lot of pain.
“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."
Earlier this month, the former world No. 14 handed Italian qualifier Andrea Pellegrino a walkover into the Italian Open third round when he retired from their match with the latter leading 4-0 in the first set.
Previously, he reached the semifinals in Madrid, losing to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets but consolidating a solid run on Spanish soil that began in Barcelona.
Fils kicked off his clay season at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, making a deep run in his first tournament working with new coach Goran Ivanisevic.
In an electrifying championship match, he beat world No. 13 Andrey Rublev to claim his first title at tour level since 2024.
A confidence-boosting result for a player on a comeback trail, having spent eight months sidelined from the Tour due to a lower-back stress fracture.
Playing high-level tennis while showcasing great athleticism, he returned to action last February in Qatar, racing to the final where he lost to world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
From there, he headed to the North American hard-court swing, advancing to the Indian Wells quarterfinals and the semifinals of the Miami Open.
The standout performances and results achieved have seen the former world No. 14, who had fallen in the Rankings to world No. 42 by February, rise to world No. 19, where he stands to this day.
Despite the setback, Fils, in good spirits, further reflected: “If it was the last tournament of my life, I will have played, but now I have 10 more years, 15 more years.”
Looking ahead, he asserted: “All is well. It's not the end of it. 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.”