French tennis player Luca Van Assche was forced to retire from his first-round Wimbledon match against Marton Fucsovics after suffering a back injury just minutes into the contest. The world No. 80, competing on Court 9, sustained the injury at 1-1 in the opening set and ultimately withdrew after one hour and two minutes, trailing 3-6, 0-4.
Injury Strikes Early
Disaster struck for Van Assche while serving at 1-1, 0-30. He won the point but immediately clutched his lower back in pain and approached the umpire, signaling for the physio. Despite winning the next point, he was visibly struggling and doubled over at the back of the court. The umpire called for the physio, and after a brief exchange, Van Assche left the court for a medical timeout, according to the Express, as reported by Wales Online.
Medical Timeout and Return
Fucsovics waited at the side of the court, practicing his serve, while Van Assche spent about 10 minutes off-court with the physio. The umpire announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Van Assche is now receiving a medical timeout off-court." Van Assche returned and chose to continue but was immediately broken and lost four straight games. He eventually got on the scoreboard and retrieved one break, but Fucsovics secured the opening set 6-3 in approximately 40 minutes.
Second Set Deterioration
In the second set, Van Assche's movement and shot power were clearly compromised. He was broken for the fifth time and decided to retire, walking to the net to shake hands with Fucsovics and the umpire. The 22-year-old has yet to claim a win at Wimbledon, having lost in the first round in 2023 and 2024 and exiting in the second round of qualifying last year.
Fucsovics Advances
Fucsovics, the Hungarian world No. 76, advances to the second round, where he will face either No. 16 seed Learner Tien or Dalibor Svrcina.
