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The news that Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open due to a torn meniscus was one of those moments at Roland Garros when you could hear the gasps.
It wasn't a big surprise given that Djokovic said he wasn't sure he would play in his quarter-final after being injured in a fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo. Still, losing the world number one and defending champion like this is huge.
But what are the implications of Djokovic's retirement for him, for the event and for the sport in general?
What it means for Novak Djokovic
What is Djokovic's injury?
Djokovic withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday due to a tear in the medial meniscus in his right knee. The meniscus is a semicircle of cartilage found on the inner half of the knee joint. It is an extremely common injury among active adults, especially middle-aged men, and can cause varying degrees of pain.
In tennis players, especially during a long playing career, any tear is more likely to be a slow, aggravating degeneration rather than a sudden, acute tear. Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are among the players who have undergone surgery for a torn meniscus in recent years when they were in their 30s, even if the first was a freak injury while preparing a bath for their children. he.
Recovery does not always involve surgery. Some people choose to avoid surgery (which can lead to long-term complications such as scarring and arthritis) and recover with physical therapy by strengthening the muscles around the knee. Whether that's an option may depend on the severity of the tear, and even if it isn't, the type of surgery also depends on the severity of the damage, whether acute or accumulated over time.
Djokovic played despite the injury against Francisco Cerundolo (Bertrand Guay / AFP via Getty Images)
American number one Taylor Fritz played at Wimbledon 23 days after surgery for a meniscus injury, but was treated with a debridement, which trims away the damaged section of the meniscus. If Djokovic's injury is too severe for that, a full repair with stitches will be necessary, extending recovery time to months.
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What do Djokovic and his team say about his injury?
Bit. The team was still coming to terms with the diagnosis and the reality that Djokovic would not be able to continue defending his title Tuesday night and there was no immediate decision on whether he would undergo surgery.
There is lingering anger over tournament organizers' decision not to heed Djokovic's warnings that the courts were becoming dangerously slippery due to constant rain over the past week and then the rapid switch to dry conditions on Saturday night. and on Monday afternoon when he played.
About an hour after the tournament announced the withdrawal, Djokovic posted on Instagram confirming the nature of the injury, adding: “My team and I had to make a difficult decision after careful consideration and consultation.”
When will Djokovic return to tennis?
It's too soon to say that. Meniscus tears vary in severity. Needless to say, if Djokovic appears at Wimbledon on July 1, he probably won't be as formidable a force as he has been for more than a decade, when he solidified his position as the best grass-court player in the world. .
After Wimbledon, the tennis world's attention turns to the Olympic Games at the end of July, where Djokovic will be desperate to win a first gold medal at the Games.
What it means for the French Open
What does this mean for the French Open draw?
Djokovic's withdrawal leaves the top half of the draw open. Casper Ruud, runner-up of the last two years, has a place in the semifinals, where he will face the winner of the quarterfinals between Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur. Zverev is looking to reach a fourth consecutive Roland Garros semi-final, while De Minaur had never made it past the second round here until this year.
What does this mean for tennis in general?
Whatever happens, there will be a new winner of this event for the first time since 2016, when Djokovic won his first title. Djokovic's withdrawal also extends his difficult start to the year, where he has yet to reach a final. It is the first time since 2018 that he has participated in the first two Grand Slams of the year and has not won either.
It also means a new ATP Tour world No. 1, with Jannik Sinner guaranteed to take that spot on Monday, June 10, achieving the milestone for the first time in his career.
Djokovic's position in the rankings may fall further. He has 1,200 points to defend at Wimbledon, 1,000 at Cincinnati and 2,000 at the US Open, making a total of 4,200. If he couldn't compete in those events, he would lose all of his points (in addition to the 1,600 points he earned on Monday after his relatively early exit here), and his ranking would drop to around #8. in the world.
He would then be in danger of even making it to November's ATP Finals for the year's top eight players and in line for his worst year-end ranking since finishing just outside the top 10 in 2017 after a season ravaged by injuries.
Two-time losing finalist Casper Ruud goes straight to the semi-finals (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
What does this mean for the French Open organizers?
Djokovic's withdrawal is a nightmare for the French Tennis Federation (FFT).
He blamed the tournament and the “very slippery” court for his injury Monday and said his team would speak with the appropriate event staff. The strength of feeling from Djokovic's camp was still there on Tuesday.
Djokovic's departure also dramatically increases Zverev's chances of being crowned champion on Sunday. Zverev, the fourth seed, is defending himself at a court hearing in Berlin over accusations that he abused an ex-girlfriend during an argument in 2020.
In October, Berlin's criminal court issued a sanction order fining her 450,000 euros ($489,000; £384,000) in relation to charges against Brenda Patea, a model and social media personality who is the mother of his daughter. Zverev denies the charges. In Germany, a prosecutor can request a sanction order in cases that he considers simple because there is convincing evidence that it should not require a trial.
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The defendant has the right to challenge the order, as Zverev did. The court hearing began on Friday in Berlin, which Zverev did not have to attend. It continued on Monday, with Patea's testimony behind closed doors, and will continue over a series of non-consecutive dates this month and next.
Unlike other sports leagues, the ATP Tour and tennis in general do not have a formal domestic abuse policy. Zverev winning one of the sport's biggest prizes would be an extremely uncomfortable situation for the tournament and the sport as a whole.
What do the players think?
Removing a quarterfinal from the calendar doesn't do anyone much good. For Ruud himself this means three days of rest that can disrupt the rhythm, while for spectators with tickets for Wednesday it means they are missing an individual match. For Zverev and De Minaur, whoever advances to face Ruud may feel at a disadvantage. A withdrawal at this stage of the tournament, similar to Rafael Nadal's withdrawal in the Wimbledon semi-final in 2022, immediately raises questions about sporting integrity.
One solution would be that Cerundolo, the man Djokovic beat, will be reinstated. The “lucky loser” already exists in tennis: players who lose in qualifying before the main draws begin can stay at the tournament venue and still participate in the event if a first-round player withdraws.
This concept has not been applied to real tournaments. When asked about that possibility, semi-finalist Sinner made the argument most often made by the opposition: “He already lost, right?”
Although restoring the 23rd spot would bring back a match for spectators, and it would be difficult to argue that Cerundolo wouldn't be a deserving winner if he beat three elite players, it is an imperfect solution. Djokovic, despite his injury, beat him cleanly to take the ranking points and the accompanying prize money. In tennis, these are the breaks.
(Top photo: Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The post Novak Djokovic's knee injury and French Open withdrawal: What it means appeared first on Creative Format.