French Open Suffers Late Blow As 25-Year-Old American Star Pulls Out

Roland Garros has taken a late hit just before the draw was made. The world No. 46, Sebastian Korda, has withdrawn from the French Open, as his body fails to answer his call for a return to the court. The 25-year-old’s clay season is now in tatters as he bows out without playing a single game. A lucky loser will take his place in the men’s draw.

Korda suffered an injury at an ATP250 event in Auckland in January, and as a result, he missed both Monte Carlo and Madrid, and from then on, the Italian Open and the Roland Garros withdrawal were the next in his long list of frustrations. He also entered a Challenger tournament in Bordeaux to regain match fitness, but failed to play there as well. He hasn’t played a match this clay season.

The key factor is that it is contrasted with the year that began so well. Korda was having one of his best seasons in the early hardcourt season. He claimed his third ATP title by defeating Casper Ruud, Flavio Cobolli, and Tommy Paul in the process at the Delray Beach Open. Then came Miami, where he pulled off one of the wins of the year, beating Carlos Alcaraz. That win made him a real threat heading into the clay season.

The clay season never materialized. His best Roland Garros run came in 2020, when he reached the fourth round in his first appearance on the surface, but suffered a back injury in the third round last year that led to a tibial fracture and ultimately to his eventual withdrawal from Wimbledon. The injury history has become a hallmark of what could be a game-changing career reaching the very pinnacle. His career-best No. 15 ranking is a telling testament to the quality of what Korda can do when he is healthy.

Injuries have been a major concern for Korda. From back spasms and shin splints that forced him to withdraw from the 2023 US Open and Wimbledon, respectively, to constant right wrist and elbow injuries that kept him out of slams in 2024.

With the grass swing set to begin, he will be eyeing a recovery and come back in the next 40 days as Wimbledon looms around the corner. However, Paris will play without one of America’s most exciting players as Korda will be on the sidelines again.

Sebastian Korda joins a long list of absentees at Roland Garros

Korda’s absence joins a long list of notable absentees in Paris. The most prominent absence is the two-time defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, who has been battling a wrist injury and is out for the rest of the clay and grass season. Jack Draper, Lorenzo Musetti, and Holger Rune are also absent on the men’s side, while on the women’s draw, Marketa Vondrousova, Varvara Gracheva, and Sonay Kartal have all pulled out. It is a French Open that has taken blow after blow before a single ball has been struck in the main draw.

For Korda, the story of his career has always been interrupted by his body just when things start to click. He made his mark on the world stage at Wimbledon 2021, making it to the fourth round at the age of 20, when he was ranked No. 50. The combination of his clean baseline play and his excellent athleticism worked out on the court, and he was noticed by the tennis world. Then the following year, he withdrew from Wimbledon with severe shin splints and beaten-up feet. Everything that was to follow was scripted.

“I was very anxious coming back to the courts, completely disconnected from matches. I think what really helps me is taking a step back and appreciating where I am. And then, trying to get back into it. I feel physically better than I have in two years. I hope it continues like this,” he said on the Tennis Channel podcast with Coco Vandeweghe, fresh off his Delray Beach title.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last. A wrist injury at the 2023 Australian Open quarterfinals against Karen Khachanov wiped out months of his season. He rebuilt, climbed to a career high of No. 15 in August 2024, won the Washington title, and made the Canadian Masters semifinals.

It was a back injury sustained in his third-round clash with Frances Tiafoe at the French Open last year that ended up as a tibial fracture and the loss of his Wimbledon grass season. He came back to 2026 with a new sense of vigor, defeating Alcaraz in Miami after winning Delray Beach, and then picking up an injury in Auckland in January, which has now extended the withdrawal run to Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, and now Roland Garros.

The talent has never been in question, but the body keeps answering differently.

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