Lucas Pouille admits he is fearing the worst after a devastating injury on Sunday.
The Frenchman collapsed in agony over his lower leg during a Challenger Tour final in Lille against Arthur Bouqier.
The 30-year-old trailed qualifier Bouquier 3-6, 5-3 and was one game away from forcing a decider when he attempted to sprint forward to chase a drop shot.
As he chased the ball he fell onto the court in pain, clutching his right leg in pain.
His opponent rushed to the net to see how his rival was.
The injury was clearly very serious as Pouille was forced to retire on the spot and end his bid to win the title in Lille.
Later on, in a touching moment with bandages and crutches, the Frenchman returned for the trophy presentation and revealed the devastating news in an emotional runners-up speech.
“I don’t want to say for certain until there have been tests, but there’s a chance it will be the last match of my career,” he said.
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“I think it’s total rupture of the Achilles tendon. Playing tennis at the highest level after that is complicated.”
The next day on social media, Pouille confirmed his initial diagnosis and gave a touching tribute to the support he has received.
“The results are what we thought… complete rupture of the Achilles tendon,” Pouille wrote in French on social media.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your messages. I will go to do surgery in the coming days.”
It was just last October, Pouille returned to the Top 100 for the first time since July 2021 after winning two challenger titles and reaching an additional three finals.
The Frenchman is a former world No.10 and is regarded as a consistent multi-surface player having reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2019 and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and US Open in 2016.
With five ATP titles, Pouille has also led his country to glory and won the Davis Cup title in 2017 when he won the decisive rubber against Steve Darcis when France beat Belgium.
Pouille will hope to return to the tennis court and has received messages of encouragement from his peers.
Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Corentin Moutet commented with the message ‘Courage’ on his social media post as they rallied around their fellow colleague.
The road to recovery begins now for Pouille and if he is forced to retirement, the Frenchman has enjoyed a career to be proud of.
