French tennis veteran Gael Monfils has pulled out of next week’s Wimbledon Championships amid concerns over the current state of his fitness.
The world No.23 hasn’t played on the Tour since the first week of May due to a right heel injury which he had a ‘small procedure’ on in recent weeks. He also had to pull out of his home Grand Slam at the French Open for only the third time in his career since making his debut back in 2005.
Posting an update on social media, Monfils confirmed that he has recently returned to training with his team. However, it has been decided that he will not play at Wimbledon due to the physical demands of best-of-five matches. His best performance at the tournament was back in 2018 when he reached the fourth round before losing to Kevin Anderson. Out of all of the grand slams, he has won the fewest main draw matches at Wimbledon (17).
“I have started to train again this week and I have felt really good,” Monfils said in a Twitter thread.
“I will now be able to increase gradually my training and spend more time on the court to get back in shape both from a physical and tennis point of view.
“Due to my recent return to training and because of the physical demands of grass court tennis / best of five matches, my team and I have taken the decision not to play Wimbledon this year.’
As for his planned comeback, the 35-year-old is targeting a return on the European clay at the Hamburg Open which will begin on July 18th. It has been almost 17 years since he won a singles title of any sort on the surface.
“I will focus instead on my preparation to be ready for the summer. I will return to competition in Hamburg followed by Kizbuhel before travelling to the US. See you all soon, Gael.” Monfils outlined.
So far this season Monfils has achieved a win-loss record of 12-6 with his best performance taking place in January when he won the Adelaide International 1 tournament. Making it his 11th ATP trophy overall. His most high-profile victory was over Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells.
As for Wimbledon, Monfils has been replaced in the main draw by lucky loser Hugo Grenier who will play in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time at the age of 26.
