Monte-Carlo in doubt? Taylor Fritz withdraws from UTS Nimes with injury concerns

Taylor Fritz has officially withdrawn from the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Nîmes. The American was set to compete in the exhibition event starting Friday, April 4, opting to skip other tournaments this week. However, an abdominal injury has forced him to extend his rest period before the Monte-Carlo Masters.

The world No. 4 had an impressive run at the Miami Open, reaching the semifinals after defeating players like Denis Shapovalov and Matteo Berrettini. However, he fell to Jakub Mensik in a three-set thriller, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-7(4). It marked the sixth Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.

The clay swing has begun with an unusual scenario on the men’s side: despite three ATP 250 events—Houston, Marrakech, and Bucharest—only two top-30 players (Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul) are competing this week.

However, several high-profile players will still be in action, though not in official competitions. The recently announced UTS Nîmes lineup originally included four top-10 players and seven within the top-20.

The exhibition event—created by Patrick Mouratoglou, currently coaching Naomi Osaka—will feature some of the ATP Tour’s biggest names this weekend, including Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, and Holger Rune, along with French stars Gaël Monfils and Ugo Humbert.

With Fritz’s withdrawal, Tomáš Macháč has been added as a last-minute replacement. The tournament will take place on the clay courts of the Arènes de Nîmes in France from April 4-5, serving as a key warm-up for players ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters.