Lucas Pouille will miss his first Grand Slam main draw since 2014 after pulling out of the upcoming Australian Open due to an elbow injury.
The 25-year-old confirmed on Monday that he will skip the entire Australian swing of the 2020 tour, including the inaugural ATP Cup, in order to aid his recovery. Pouille hasn’t played a competitive match since his loss to John Isner in the second round of the Shanghai Masters back in October. He was forced to end his season early due to a right elbow injury that has been bothering him.
“It’s a massive disappointment for me to announce that I will not be able to take part in the first-ever ATP Cup event or the Adelaide tournament and above all I will not participate in the Australian Open,” Pouille said in a statement.
It was at this year’s Australian Open where the Frenchman achieved his best ever grand slam result. Scoring back-to-back wins over Borna Coric and Milos Raonic to reach the semifinals. He was knocked out of the tournament by Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the title. Due to his withdrawal, Pouille will be unable to defend his 720 points earned next month.
“As you can imagine, I’m extremely disappointed and sad to miss the start of the year, but the season is long, the career is long and now my goal is to be 100 percent competitive as quickly as possible,” he said.
Pouille is currently ranked 22nd in the world and has been continuously ranked in the world’s top 50 since May 2016. This year he has achieved an overall win-loss record of 26-24. His sole title triumph occurred on the Challenger tour when he won the BNP Paribas Primrose Bordeaux in his home country. He also reached the semi-finals of the Metz Open, which is an ATP 250 tournament.
The Australian Open will get underway on January 20th.
