There is uncertainty surrounding Richard Gasquet’s start to 2016 after he was forced to pull out of the IPTL earlier this week due to a back injury.
According to a report published by L’equipe, the injury troubling the world No.9 is similar to what he experienced earlier this year. The Frenchman missed one-and-a-half months of the tour this year due to a herniated disc in his back. At the time the Hernia was inoperable, instead it was treated with a injection in between the D12 and L1 vertebrae of his back. Shortly after this year’s Indian Wells Masters, Gasquet described his back pain during a interview with L’equipe journalist Frederic Bernes.
“it was horrible. I was really hurting. I’d rather have returned in a wheelchair! I’ve never felt pain like that before. When I had to retire in Dubai I got the message. Before playing Federer I took three anti-inflammatories in the evening and two in the morning, but they didn’t help at all”. Gasquet said in April.
Due to recurrence of the problem, it has been reported that Gasquet has already decided to withdraw from his first tournament of 2016, the Doha Open which starts on January 4th. It is unclear if the decision is due to the severity of the injury or is just a precautionary decision. During Gasquet’s career he has been dealing with back injuries in 2010 and 2014 as well as this year.
The Frenchman has ended 2015 ranked inside the top 10 for the third time in his career. At Wimbledon he reached the semi-finals after defeating Stan Wawrinka during a five-set classic. Gasquet has also won two ATP titles this year in Montpellier, France and Estoril, Portugal.
