LILLE, France — Lucas Pouille fears his tennis career could be over after collapsing with a lower leg injury during a match Sunday.
The 30-year-old Frenchman injured himself late in the second set of a Challenger Tour final in Lille against Arthur Bouquier. After several exchanges, Pouille moved forward from behind the baseline and slumped to the ground then lay on his back and clutched his right foot. He was unable to continue with Bouquier leading 6-3, 3-5 at the time.
After the match, the 102nd-ranked Pouille told the crowd he fears the worst.
“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,” Pouille said. “I think it’s total rupture of the Achilles tendon. Playing tennis at the highest level after that is complicated.”
Pouille lost in the first round of this year’s Australian Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
He was regarded as a consistent multi-surface player during his peak and reached a career-high ranking of 10th in 2018 — the year he reached three finals.
Pouille has won five career titles, and his best performance in major tournaments came in 2019 when he reached the semifinals at the Australian Open. Pouille reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2016.
He won the decisive rubber against Steve Darcis when France beat Belgium to win the Davis Cup in 2017.
