The world’s number one ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic is pulling out of the French Open because of a knee injury, Roland-Garros announced in a Tuesday tweet.
“Djokovic has withdrawn from Roland-Garros due to a right knee injury,” the tournament tweeted.
Djokovic has withdrawn from Roland-Garros due to a right knee injury.
Wishing Novak a speedy recovery 🧡 pic.twitter.com/Ilb6HynTzw
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2024
An MRI scan confirmed Djokovic tore the meniscus tendon in his right knee, according to the Tennis Channel.
MRI scans confirmed that Novak Djokovic suffered a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. ❤️🩹#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/JuBpAAj6V3
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 4, 2024
The injury occurred during a fourth round matchup against no. 23 ranked player Francisco Cerundolo.
Djokovic slipped on the court, extending his leg awkwardly early in the matchup. He appeared irate at the French Open organizers after the injury, seemingly saying, “Great job. You know better than us. It’s not slippery at all. Not dangerous at all. Well done supervisor and everybody. Ground staff, well done.”
Getting wild at @rolandgarros ! The 🐐 Novak Djokovic battles his way back to a 5th set again. Took a nasty tumble and seems to vent some frustration of the court conditions to whoever would listen…
Man. Every point seems huge. pic.twitter.com/V6XRz8U4QQ
— RHog (@RHogewood) June 3, 2024
Djokovic took “what he said a tournament doctor told him was the maximum dose of pills allowed to dull the pain and reduce any inflammation,” according to The Associated Press, and battled back to win the matchup despite the torn knee. (RELATED: Video Shows Tennis Star Collapse In Pain After Fan Appears To Drop Metal Water Bottle On His Head)
After the match, Djokovic criticized the ground crew for the court conditions.
“But could have this injury be prevented? Possibly, if there was just a little bit more of a frequent care of the court during the set,” he said, according to The AP.
