1 week Ago By Yasmin Syed
Ugo Humbert is struggling to find practice partners due to a broken bone in his hand. The tennis star sustained the injury before the clay season but chose to continue competing. Despite playing with a splint on his finger in tournaments in Monte-Carlo, Munich, and Madrid, he has only managed to win one match.
Carlos Alcaraz , meanwhile, has explained where he keeps his four Grand Slam trophies - and American star Ben Shelton damaged an electronic advertising board during his recent loss at the Madrid Open . Tommy Fleetwood's wife makes her feelings clear on 23-year age gap PGA Tour set to axe controversial tournament rule after years of criticism Humbert's injury has not only affected his performance in matches but also his training sessions. His colleagues and competitors have been declining opportunities to train with him.
Earlier this month, the Frenchman raised eyebrows when he appeared for his opening match at the Monte-Carlo Masters with a bandage on part of his right hand. He suffered a three-set defeat to Alexei Popyrin and later disclosed that he had broken his pinky finger while participating in the UTS event in Nimes the previous day. Despite the setback, Humbert insisted on continuing to compete and planned to play through the clay season as usual.
True to his word, he participated in Munich last week, where he was eliminated in the second round. The 26-year-old has now lost his opening match at the Madrid Open. After receiving a bye into round two, Humbert was defeated by fellow Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-2 6-7(3) 7-6(5).
Following the match, he shared how challenging it has been to find practice partners due to his injury, with some players even withdrawing. "Nobody wants to train with me anymore! As a left-hander, it's already complicated, but with one finger missing, it's worse," Humbert told Quentin Moynet. "In Madrid, I hit all week with sparring.
Last week in Munich, I signed to train with Cerundolo. But an hour before training, without telling me, he signed with another guy. It's driving me crazy! As a result, I played for half an hour with my physio.
It's really a world of sharks." Humbert is facing quite a challenge as he gears up for the Italian Open on May 7, not just with matches but finding reliable practice partners seems to be a tough match in itself. Even with the ATP 500 in Hamburg before the French Open, the competition seems tight and support seemingly elusive.
Humbert might catch a break though, since his finger bandages are expected to come off before he steps onto the court again. After his loss in Monte-Carlo earlier this month, he was initially informed that healing would require "three to four weeks." Despite the risk of prolonging his injury, the determined athlete chose to press on.
"They said either you stop for three weeks and you come back after that and maybe you'll feel better, or you play but the healing time might be longer," he explained. "So I can't stay sitting around drinking Actimel and doing nothing. It makes me crazy not being able to go and play.
I want to try, even if I lose. I'm very proud that I'm able to go on that court.".
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