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June 30, 2025
Stefanos Tsitsipas: Stefanos Tsitsipas couldn’t continue his Wimbledon opener on Monday. He was forced to retire due to a troubling back injury.
This unexpected turn handed the win to French qualifier Valentin Royer. It was a dream debut for Royer, who now moves on to the second round at The Championships.
Royer was leading 6-3, 6-2 against Tsitsipas when the match took a turn. The Greek player had to take a medical timeout in the second set because of back pain.
Throughout the 74 minutes on court, Tsitsipas looked clearly uncomfortable. His movement was restricted, and his serve wasn’t at its best. He landed only 43% of his first serves.
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Just last week, Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill had mentioned that Tsitsipas was already struggling with back issues during practice with the Italian.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is currently coached by former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic, exits SW19 with a season record of 19 wins and 13 losses.
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Valentin Royer was playing only his second main-draw match at a Grand Slam. Just last month, he faced a first-round exit at Roland Garros.
This time, the Frenchman made the most of his opportunity. Ranked No. 99 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, he impressed with 22 clean winners against Tsitsipas. Up next, he will face fellow Frenchman Adrian Mannarino in the second round.
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