Hurkacz points to back and abdominal trouble after Wimbledon retirement

Hubert Hurkacz cut a frustrated figure after injury ended his Wimbledon for the second time in three years, retiring from a two-set lead in his fourth-round match against Jan-Lennard Struff. “Just an unfortunate ending,” the Pole said. “That’s it”, he added, revealing the source of his pain.

He had been in control before it struck. “In the third set at 5-5, I felt my back, and the abdominal muscle problem on the right side appeared in the fourth set,” Hurkacz said. “It happened with one movement. I relied on character, but it was impossible to continue this match.” Asked how hard it had been to play through, he was blunt: “Oh, it was impossible. It was impossible.”

The problem, he said, was sudden and unfamiliar. “No, it just happened during the match,” Hurkacz said, with the exact issue still unknown. “Probably a small problem with the muscle. We’re trying to do the diagnosis, then we’ll proceed from there. Tests will provide more answers.”

There was a weary familiarity to it. Hurkacz also retired at Wimbledon in 2024, pulling out in the fourth set of his second-round match against Arthur Fils with a knee injury, and missed the 2025 Championships with a back problem.

Two sets to the good against Struff – the match finishing 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 4-2 – he could only lament another chance gone. “We’re pushing and trying our best, and I think I was playing quite well,” he said. “Just wasn’t my day.”