Nishioka not yet at 100%: "My shoulder isn’t fully recovered"

World No. 74 Yoshihito Nishioka made his return at the Rome Masters 1000. In his opening match, he was eliminated by Dusan Lajovic (7-5, 6-1), marking his first appearance in an ATP tournament since March.

Sidelined with a shoulder injury, he had retired against Hugo Gaston in Miami and had not played any tournaments since, also missing last week’s Madrid Open.

After his loss to the Serbian, the Japanese player posted a message on his X account (formerly Twitter) updating his health status. He hopes to be ready for the next major event of the season at Roland-Garros.

"I was able to play for the first time in several months, but my shoulder still isn’t fully recovered, and I will return to Japan.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I entered this tournament to avoid penalties, but I will do my best to recover properly and be ready to play at Roland-Garros," Nishioka wrote on social media recently.