Pouille: "I still want to experience great emotions on the courts".

Lucas Pouille suffered a serious injury last Sunday in the final of the Lille Challenger.

Unfortunately for him, it was a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Despite the bad news and what looks set to be a long absence, the Frenchman remains undeterred.

Speaking to RMC, Pouille talks about the future and his desire to return in 2026: "I'll be starting almost from scratch in terms of ranking, even though I'll have a protected ranking.

You have to rebuild everything, and that's going to take time. But I don't want to end it there. We're going to have to be patient, because the comeback won't happen straight away.

The only thing is to play, to feel the emotions, the adrenalin, the stress, to experience communion with the public, this life on the circuit which is special but quite fantastic.

Once that stops, it stops forever. Today, winning a Grand Slam is neither a goal nor a dream.

But to enjoy, to train, to relive great emotions on the courts and why not play for the French team again, to go far in a tournament, these are achievable things, I think.

All that makes me want to play and keep going.