Player Withdraws From French Open Match After Ill-Advised Kick

Dan Gartland | May 31, 2024

France TV Sport

Arthur Rinderknech’s French Open ended prematurely when he was forced to retire from his second-round match against Tomás Martín Etcheverry on Thursday after he injured himself in a fit of rage.

Rinderknech won the first two sets of the match but dropped the third and quickly fell behind two games to none in the fourth set, at which point his frustration boiled over and he kicked an advertising panel on the edge of the court.

Rinderknech was able to continue the match but eventually sought medical treatment for an injury to his left foot resulting from the kick. He tried to continue playing but then decided to retire, down 5–0 in the fourth set.

Sorry, but the way Arthur Rinderknech got hurt, it's probably the dumbest injury I've seen this year 😭

It really was possible to beat Etcheverry#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/sWGwzvrrn4

— Tan 🇫🇷 🇨🇦 (@yesiamtan) May 31, 2024

“I feel very good physically, but I just messed up,” Rinderknech told French newspaper L'Équipe, as translated by ESPN. “I kicked into the wall, a little annoyed, at 2–0 when I got broken in the fourth set. I don’t really know at the moment, but I hope I didn’t break my toe. Afterwards, I could no longer put my foot on the ground."

L’Équipe reported Friday that Rinderknech did not break any bones but did injure some cartilage in his toe.

This was Rinderknech’s fifth appearance in the French Open and marked just the second time that he’d advanced past the first round. He is currently ranked No. 67 in the world.

Etcheverry, who reached the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open, will face Casper Ruud in the third round on Saturday.