Rune withdraws from UTS Nîmes, Popyrin replaces him
This weekend, Nîmes will host the second leg of the UTS Tour in 2025. Just weeks after Tomas Machac’s triumph in Guadalajara, eight ATP players will battle it out on French clay in the Gard region to claim the event’s title.
Two French players will be in attendance: Gaël Monfils and Ugo Humbert, both now familiar faces in UTS tournaments. However, Nîmes has had to adjust its plans in recent hours, as two top stars from the men’s tour were forced to pull out.
On Wednesday, Taylor Fritz, sidelined by an abdominal injury, withdrew, making way for Tomas Machac—who has already clinched titles in Mexico twice this year (Guadalajara in the UTS circuit and the Acapulco ATP tournament in early March).
Another major withdrawal is that of Holger Rune. The Dane, who had hoped to compete in UTS Nîmes as preparation for the Monte-Carlo Masters 1000, announced his withdrawal on Thursday due to knee inflammation. The player confirmed the news in recent hours.
"I felt knee pain during training, and I’ve had a similar injury before. After consulting my medical team, I can’t take any risks at the start of the clay season, and I need to be 100% before playing, especially in the UTS format.
I’ll have to rest in the coming days, and I’ve made the decision to withdraw from the event in Nîmes. I want to apologize to all my French fans—I was really looking forward to playing at the Arènes. I’ll be back on the UTS Tour," reads a statement on the official UTS website.
Following Rune’s withdrawal, Alexei Popyrin will step in. The Australian will compete in his first UTS tournament since 2020. The updated lineup for UTS Nîmes, taking place on April 4 and 5, is as follows: Andrey Rublev, Alex De Minaur, Tomas Machac, Ben Shelton, Alexei Popyrin, Gaël Monfils, Casper Ruud, and Ugo Humbert.
