"Still a long way to go but the motivation is there" - Arthur Fils latest big name to withdraw from Monte-Carlo Masters after busy Sunshine swing takes toll

The withdrawal list for the Monte-Carlo Masters is growing longer and longer with Frenchman Arthur Fils the latest to pull out of the tournament, relinquishing the points he collected from his quarterfinal last year.

It was one of the big tournaments at the start of last year that Fils made a huge impression on. It followed a brace of quarterfinals in the Sunshine swing before repeating that in Monaco, taking down fellow countryman Gael Monfils and Andrey Rublev before running into a rampant Carlos Alcaraz who went on to win the tournament.

He reached a career high ranking of world number 14 in this time period, an incredible achievement and rise from a hugely talented tennis player. His campaign would fall off a cliff after a back injury which worsened at Roland Garros, and sidelined him for basically the rest of the year.

Now back on tour, it is like he has never left. His first three defeats came against players who would go on to win the title - Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Open Occitanie, Alex de Minaur at the ABN AMRO Open and Alcaraz in the final of the Qatar Open. The latter was a special showing that showcased the talent he has.

The next objective was to recoup as many points as he could in the Sunshine swing, and he ended up leaving with more of a haul than last year. He reached the quarterfinal stage at Indian Wells before losing out to world number three Alexander Zverev. It had looked like his run at the Miami Open would end up culminating at the last-eight stage once more when Tommy Paul was lining up to take one of his four match points on offer. Fils showed great grit and determination to rack off four consecutive points and win a thriller. A first Masters 1000 final was prevented by an impressive Jiri Lehecka, ending a hugely successful Sunshine swing.

A whole load of matches were played in the United States and even before that run in Doha. A week's rest is apparently not going to be enough for the 21-year-old as he strives to be in the best condition he can possibly be in.

He unveiled the news on Instagram. “Back on tour for a few weeks now, still a long way to go but the motivation is there," he wrote. "We've decided not to play the 2026 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters to properly prepare for the rest of the clay season. See you very soon."

The clay swing could be a huge chance to gain some points, but not at first. After the points from Monaco get taken off, he will look to defend his semi-final run at the Barcelona Open last year, also having it end at the hands of the world number one.

Early exits in the Madrid Open and Rome Open leave room for improvement before his home Grand Slam event at Roland Garros. He will be needing the rest for this busy run in the calendar as he looks to rise back up the ranks.