Tennis: Nishikori pulls out of French Open with lower back pain
PARIS (Kyodo) -- Japan's former world No. 4 tennis player Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from the French Open because of lower back pain, his management company said Friday.
The injury-plagued 35-year-old had been scheduled to face reigning champion and current world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the first round of the tournament beginning Sunday.
The lower back trouble forced Nishikori to withdraw from his rain-interrupted second-round match against Russian Karen Khachanov at the Geneva Open on Wednesday.
Nishikori returned from a succession of injuries to make his Grand Slam comeback in January at the Australian Open, where he reached the second around.
Japan's former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka will take on 10th-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain in the women's first round at Roland Garros.
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Japan Times
13 hours ago
- Japan Times
Alexander Bublik upsets No. 1 Jannik Sinner in second round in Halle
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Japan Today
19 hours ago
- Japan Today
World No. 1 Sinner ousted by Bublik in Halle second round
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Japan Today
19 hours ago
- Japan Today
Sinner loses to Bublik in second round at Halle
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) tennis Top-ranked Jannik Sinner was upended by Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round at the Halle grass-court tournament Thursday. Sinner, the Halle defending champion, was playing in his first tournament since losing a five-set thriller to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland-Garros final. The three-time Grand Slam champion had beaten Yannick Hanfmann in the first round this week, but the big-serving Bublik gained some revenge after having lost to Sinner in the quarterfinals in Paris. 'It's a special one — I had never beaten the top one (No. 1) in the world, that's an accomplishment,' Bublik, who is ranked 45th, said in his on-court interview. The Kazakhstan player recorded 36 winners and 15 aces against the top-seeded Sinner in the Wimbledon warmup tournament. 'I just kept serving, kept putting him in uncomfortable positions and it worked well," said Bublik, the 2023 Halle champion who will face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals. Also Thursday © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
