Arthur Fils may not even take to the court at Roland Garros this year.
Fils suffered a back injury at Roland Garros last year, which prevented him from playing more than two matches in nine months.
Since returning to the ATP Tour, Fils has reached the semifinals of the Madrid Open and the Miami Open, as well as winning his fourth title in Barcelona, putting himself in the top five in the race to the ATP Finals.
However, disaster struck in Rome for Fils, who retired after just four games of his match against Andrea Pellegrino due to a hip injury, and more concern has been raised ahead of Roland Garros.
Arthur Fils has not been practicing at Roland Garros
Just two days after retiring at the Italian Open, Fils provided a positive fitness update and appeared to suggest that he would be ready for Roland Garros.
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However, Fils’ actions have not quite matched these comments, as he is yet to appear on the practice courts at Roland Garros.
It is now also being reported that Fils is not on the schedule for media day at Roland Garros, only heightening the speculation over whether he will be playing at his home major.
Fils has not played a best-of-five set match since Roland Garros last year, where he beat Jaume Munar in a dramatic five set thriller before he was forced to withdraw from the rest of the tournament.
If the 21-year-old is unable to take the court for Roland Garros this year then it would be a huge blow for the tournament, as Fils is the top ranked French singles player on both the ATP and WTA Tour.
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Arthur Fils’ draw for Roland Garros this year
This would also be a big blow for fans of the tournament, as Fils was drawn to play Stan Wawrinka in perhaps the most eye-catching first round match.
Wawrinka is retiring from tennis this year, but it is currently unclear as to who the former champion’s first round opponent will be with Fils’ participation up in the air.
Some of the other potential opponents for Fils in his half of the draw include Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz.
Fils achieved his best result at Roland Garros last year, even though he was forced to withdraw from his third round match, but he may not even take to the court this year.
The world number 19 has just three days to be ready for his first round match in Paris, with Fils scheduled to play Wawrinka on Monday, May 25.
