ATP Tour

Fils reveals stress fracture, discusses how long he might be out

Arthur Fils was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros on Friday due to a back injury. On Saturday, the Frenchman shared details of his injury.

“I had some issue with the back since a long time and during the match against Munar it [got] worse,” said Fils, who struggled with his back throughout his five-set second-round win against Jaume Munar. “Then I did some exams. The exams were not good at all.

“[I] got some stress fracture. What we decide with the team it was better to stop now, because if I'm stopping now, I could stop for only four to six weeks. If I was pushing myself too much, I would probably stop for a couple of months. This is not what we are trying to do, so [we] had to make a choice.”

Fils had never won a match at Roland Garros prior to this week, but moved past Nicolas Jarry and Munar to reach the third round before he withdrew from the major, handing his third-round opponent Andrey Rublev a walkover.

The 20-year-old will now see if he is able to compete at Wimbledon, which starts on 30 June.

“I don't think I'm going to have to undergo surgery. I don't think so,” Fils said. “As for the grass season, I don't know yet. We'll see if I can be ready for Wimbledon. I'm not sure. We'll see. It's on hold for the moment. It will take time. I'm only 20 years old. I don't want to be in a hurry on the tour.

“I don't need to ramp up everything. I need to be ready for the hard-court season, for the end of the year, and this is for the best.”

Fils is currently No. 13 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and is 21-10 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. His best result came in Barcelona, where he reached the semi-finals.