Concerns grow over Arthur Fils’ Roland Garros participation after missing public training sessions

Concerns are emerging around Arthur Fils and his participation at Roland Garros, after several days without public training sessions—despite the fact that all the other major French Open stars have already occupied the tournament’s main courts to carry out high-intensity practice in front of the public.

The French No. 1 is one of the main stars of the tournament—not only because of his strong presence, but also because for several years we had not seen a French player arriving at their home Slam with serious ambitions of becoming a title contender.

Without the presence of Alcaraz, Fils is one of those positioned to challenge the dominance of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Let us remember that the 21-year-old Frenchman was champion at the Barcelona Open and later reached the semifinals at the Madrid Open. However, his most recent appearance in Rome ended in retirement due to physical problems during the opening round against Italian Andrea Pellegrino (0-4, ret.).

After his withdrawal in Rome, the World No. 19 reassured fans by announcing that he would be ready for the second Grand Slam of the year, although the latest week’s signals seem to indicate something different. “I ran all the tests with the team and everything is clear. Already back to work for Paris. Thanks for the messages 🙏🏾,” he posted a week ago.

The signals seem to suggest there is concern within Fils’ camp regarding his participation in the tournament. He has not taken part in any public training sessions—unlike all his high-profile colleagues such as Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, or even Stan Wawrinka, who is in the year of his retirement and is Fils’ first-round opponent in the tournament.

However, Fils has not had any confirmed training sessions so far. In addition, the Frenchman did not participate in Media Day—unlike his peers. As the local No. 1, it is less usual for Fils to skip Media Day. For now, it has only been confirmed that on Saturday, May 23—at a time still to be confirmed—the Frenchman will speak to the media.

For the moment, these are only speculations arising from Fils’ absence from training and interviews, while there is still no clarity regarding the specific injury he suffered in Rome.

With only a few days left before the start of the tournament—and being one of the main stars in Paris—only a serious reason could keep him out of these activities, especially considering he is the main local name expected to go deep in the draw.

The Frenchman is the 17th seed in the draw and was scheduled to face none other than three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the first round. A potential withdrawal from Fils would allow a lucky loser to enter the main draw—that is, one of the players who lost in the third round of qualifying.

However, since Fils is a seeded player, there would also be an adjustment in the seedings. According to ITF regulations: “If the withdrawal is among seeds 17 to 32 it shall be filled by the next highest ranked player eligible to be seeded.”

In this case, the next highest-ranked player after the seeds is Alejandro Tabilo—currently World No. 35 and No. 33 on the entry list (considering that both Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti were not entered). The Chilean, scheduled to debut against Kamil Majchrzak on Monday, May 25, would have to adjust his schedule, taking to court on Sunday instead of Fils to face the three-time Grand Slam champion.

A curious coincidence, considering they had already been drawn to face each other this week at the Geneva Open—although Tabilo’s last-minute withdrawal ultimately changed the situation and Wawrinka ended up debuting against Riccardo Brancaccio. Meanwhile, Tabilo’s spot in the draw would be filled by a lucky loser.