World No. 1 men's tennis player and defending French Open champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ongoing Paris tournament due to a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Associated Press reports.
Djokovic, 37, who holds the all-time record of 24 major singles titles, underwent an MRI scan and further medical tests on his right knee Tuesday (June 4), which confirmed the injury. The Serbian forced him to withdraw from his quarterfinal matchup against two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud, who will get a walkover into the semifinals and face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 Alexander Zverev and No. 11 Alex de Minaur.
Djokovic aggravated his knee during his fourth-round win against Francisco Cerundolo on Monday (June 3), having reportedly dealt with the injury prior to arriving in Paris. The withdrawal ends Djokovic's French Open title defense and will force him to relinquish the ATP No. 1 overall ranking.
Djokovic appeared to have tweaked his knee and took a medical timeout during his second set of his fourth-round win on Monday.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow — or after tomorrow, if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play,” the 37-year-old Djokovic said while addressing the injury Monday night via the AP. “You know, I hope so. Let’s see what happens.”
Djokovic won the French Open, Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2023, having been eliminated in the quarter-final round at Wimbledon that same year.
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