A major blow for France: Ugo Humbert’s injury forces last-minute Davis Cup reshuffle

The Davis Cup Finals, featuring the last 8 competing teams vying for the international trophy, is approaching, and there are already team adjustments. The French team—which will debut against Belgium in the quarterfinals in Bologna—has suffered a significant loss following the injury of World No. 37 Ugo Humbert, who will be unable to participate in the tournament.

The team, captained by Paul-Henri Mathieu—former World No. 12—has called up Corentin Moutet (No. 35) and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (No. 59) as replacements. They will join the European team, which is seeking its first title since 2017—when they defeated Belgium in the final led by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Lucas Pouille.

The French team is now composed of: Arthur Rinderknech (No. 28)—a recent Shanghai Masters finalist, Corentin Moutet (No. 35), Benjamin Bonzi (No. 57), Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (No. 59), and doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert (doubles No. 69).

In the quarterfinals, they will face the Belgian team—the very team they defeated in the 2017 final. The Belgians will feature Zizou Bergs and Raphael Collignon as their singles players, in addition to doubles specialists Sander Gille (No. 49) and Joran Vliegan (No. 66)—two former Top-20 doubles players.

In the last Davis Cup series, France played for qualification against Croatia, but without the presence of their highest-ranked players, Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils. With a diminished team, Rinderknech and Moutet took on the responsibility and ultimately delivered a 3-1 victory for the French.

Moutet was the major star, in what was his first time representing France in the Davis Cup. The 26-year-old player defeated Dino Prižmić and Marin Čilić in the decisive rubber, securing France's passage to the Finals 8. “I’m happy to have honoured the responsibilities I was given, and I’ve learned a lot these past two days. Representing the French team is something powerful and I will remember it all my life,” Moutet said.

The player, who was called up at the last minute, was praised by Captain Mathieu, who recognized Moutet as the outstanding figure of the team on that occasion. “Corentin man of the match? Yes, of course, since he brought us the winning point, but it’s the whole team that contributed to this victory,” the France Davis Cup Captain said. Mathieu added:

"For him, it’s obviously fantastic to win his first two matches wearing the France jersey – it’s great. He showed character on the court. We know his qualities as a fighter, especially on this surface. He needed to show them, and he did."

The Davis Cup will be the last event of the season, with the Final 8 taking place in Bologna—the new host city for the tournament, which was held in Malaga, Spain back in 2024. This time, the tournament will be celebrated in Italy, where the locals are the two-time defending champions—though this time without their main figures following the withdrawals of Jannik Sinner (No. 2) and Lorenzo Musetti (No. 9).

The ties will begin this Tuesday, November 18th, with the series between France and Belgium. The competing teams feature several top-level figures, including Carlos Alcaraz with Spain, Alexander Zverev with Germany, and Jiří Lehečka with the Czech Republic.