The former French number one, down to 62nd place, is not sufficiently physically recovered to participate in the first Grand Slam tournament of 2021.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will not participate in the Australian Open, from February 7 to 21, 2021, being “still not able to play competitively,” the 35-year-old said on Twitter Tuesday. “I can’t wait to get back on the courts, but I have to be patient … even if not going to Australia this year is heartbreaking,” said Tsonga, former world No. 5 today 62nd in the ATP rankings. .
»READ ALSO – Australian Open: Roger Federer withdraws from Melbourne
“Despite considerable progress in recent months, I am still not able to play in competition, the objective being to return to 100%”, announced the Frenchman, who had missed Roland-Garros this fall and put an end to his season in September due to a persistent pelvic injury.
“I still have the morale, the rage, the desire and the motivation to come back in 2021”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Due to injuries and the coronavirus pandemic, Tsonga only played two matches in 2020, losing two in Doha and at the Australian Open in January. In Melbourne, his recalcitrant back had forced him to give up in the first round. He then led him to give up the Rotterdam, Marseille and Dubai tournaments.
Plummeted beyond 250th place in the world at the end of 2018, after an operation on the left knee (meniscus) and a long recovery, the 2008 Australian Open finalist and double semi-finalist at Roland Garros (2013 and 2015) gradually rose through the ranks over the 2019 season, punctuated by two titles (Montpellier and Metz), until I regained a place around the top 30. “I still have the morale, the rage, the desire and the motivation to come back in 2021, hoping that things will evolve positively, ”Tsonga wrote in September.
