“We are working on the matter”: French Director explains why Ugo Humbert’s absence could lead to potential sanctions

The National Technical Director of the French Tennis Federation, Didier Retière, criticised Ugo Humbert’s decision to prioritise the ATP calendar instead of representing France in the Davis Cup.

The former world No. 13 announced a few days ago that he will not be part of the French team and will skip the first-round qualifier at home against Slovakia, which will be played next weekend, on February 7–8, on indoor hard courts at Le Chaudron.

Currently ranked world No. 33, Humbert added several tournaments to his calendar and is expected to compete next week at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier. The following weeks will be packed with tournaments for the 27-year-old, who will then play the Rotterdam Open, Doha, and Dubai.

Humbert is looking to regain positions in the rankings, especially at a time when he is defending a significant number of points and risks continuing to fall in the rankings, potentially even dropping out of the top 50 if he fails to collect wins in the coming weeks.

“After discussing this with my team, I’ve made the difficult decision not to participate in the next Davis Cup tie,” Humbert posted on Instagram on Saturday. “To tackle this first part of the season and maintain my goals, I’ve chosen to focus on the upcoming tournaments, especially on indoor hard courts.”

This time, the response came from France’s National Technical Director in an interview with AFP, where he expressed regret over Humbert’s decision. “Obviously, we are a little sad,” he stated in conversation with L'Equipe. “Team competitions leave an incredible mark on the lives of players, on the life of the Federation, on the life of the public and clubs. When you start playing tennis, of course the ambition is to become a professional player. But it must also include the fact of wearing the tricolour jersey.”

The decision to skip the tie after having already been confirmed in the initial squad could lead to sanctions for the player, something that will be decided by the President of the French Tennis Federation. “It’s up to the president of the FFT, Gilles Moretton, to make the decision. We are disappointed. We are working on the matter.”

Beyond Humbert’s disappointing decision for the French team, Retière lamented the existing tension between the ATP calendar and the Davis Cup, which forces players to make a difficult decision every time they are called up to represent their countries—often sacrificing tournaments that are part of their regular schedule.

“At some point, the competition has become less readable,” he admitted. “So obviously, players also ask themselves questions. With the growing weight of the calendar and tournaments, it has become difficult for them to reconcile everything. That’s why it’s not black or white. But indeed, I think the format has not made things any easier.”

The French team will face Slovakia and initially announced a squad of four players: Arthur Rinderknech (No. 28) as the first singles player, along with Ugo Humbert (No. 33), Benjamin Bonzi (No. 106), and doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert (No. 65). However, Humbert’s withdrawal leaves the team—for now—with only three representatives.

The Slovak team, for their part, will feature Lukas Klein (No. 136), Alex Molcan (No. 206), Norbert Gombos (No. 303), Milos Karol (No. 446), and Lukas Pokorny (No. 522).

A few days earlier, team coach Ivan Ljubičić expressed his regret at losing the player who had been slated as the team’s second singles option. “It’s sad. We are all sad. For me, the Davis Cup has always been very important. And in France, I had the feeling that it was the most important thing for all the players.”

“Obviously, that is not the case. So there you have it—we will have to play without him. Also, it seems a bit strange to me to have a main tour tournament in France at the same time as a French team match. When I was playing, that didn’t happen. We had weeks with only the Davis Cup.”