Rome Open hit by withdrawals: Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori join Djokovic on sidelines

New withdrawals from the Rome Open have been confirmed just a couple of days before the tournament's start. These are veterans Gael Monfils (No. 42) and Kei Nishikori (No. 64), two of the most experienced players currently on the Tour, who join a list led by the 6-time Italian Open champion Novak Djokovic.

The 38-year-old Frenchman had a good start at the Madrid Open, with a victory over Borna Gojo 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, but then withdrew before his second-round match against the 7th seed Andrey Rublev. As Monfils detailed on social media, his retirement in Madrid was due to illness, although he has not yet clarified if the same reason will keep him out of Rome.

In Nishikori's case, he had already started experiencing injury problems a couple of months ago when he withdrew from the Miami Open. "My body has not recovered enough from the matches last week," he mentioned on social media. A couple of weeks later at the Houston Open, he had to retire mid-match in the round of 16 against Christopher Eubanks. Nevertheless, he appeared in Madrid without physical issues, falling in the second round to Denis Shapovalov.

Several other withdrawals had already been confirmed in the previous days. The 2024 semifinalist, Alejandro Tabilo (No. 35) – who had surprisingly defeated Djokovic en route on that occasion – is out of the tournament due to a left wrist injury, which had already forced him to withdraw from the Munich Open and Madrid Open, and still has his participation in Roland Garros in doubt.

The Chinese players Zhizhen Zhang (No. 54) and Juncheng Shang (No. 60) are facing long-term recovery from injuries. In Shang's case, the 19-year-old was injured in the first round of the Australian Open and has not appeared since, with only one match played this season. In the case of "ZZZ," 28 years old, he is recovering from an injury since the end of Indian Wells and is aiming for his return at Roland Garros.

On the other hand, David Goffin (No. 49) played in the first round of the Madrid Open, where he faced a tight match against Alexandre Muller, but a right foot injury after approaching the net forced him to retire shortly after the start of the third set, giving the victory to the Frenchman 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (ret.).