Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

Court safety review urged as Goffin hurt

French Open organisers are under fire after 10th seed David Goffin twisted his ankle and was forced to withdraw from the Roland Garros tournament.

David Goffin
French Open organisers have come under pressure to review court safety after David Goffin tripped. (AAP)

French Open organisers have come under pressure to review court safety after Belgian David Goffin tripped and twisted his ankle on a cover at the edge of the playing surface, sustaining an injury that forced him to quit the tournament.

His coach, Thierry Van Cleemput, said that while the 10th seed had not torn ligaments or broken a bone, the injury on Court Suzanne Lenglen, which had put his grasscourt season in doubt, should prompt a review.

"The objective is to have optimal safety for all players on the courts, and ... Roland Garros (staff) have asked themselves all of these questions," Van Cleemput told a news conference.

"There will be consequences. The decisions will be to have a safer court."

Roland Garros organisers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem, who would have faced Goffin in the next round had the Belgian come through against Argentine Horacio Zeballos, agreed the cover presented a risk.

"It's a little bit dangerous that this thing is there," Thiem told reporters after his third-round win over American Steve Johnson.

"If you are really in defence, then almost everybody goes that far behind the baseline. So maybe they should remove (it)."

Milos Raonic reached the last 16 after Spanish veteran Guillermo Garcia-Lopez retired at the start of the second set.

Fifth-seeded Raonic cruised through the first set 6-1 in 21 minutes and led 1-0 in the second when Garcia-Lopez retired at the changeover with a quad injury.

Canadian Raonic will face another Spaniard in the fourth round after Pablo Carreno Busta upset the 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

The 20th-seeded Carreno Busta was too consistent for Bulgarian Dimitrov in a 7-5 6-3 6-4 victory.

Spain's contingent in the round of 16 swelled with Roberto Bautista Agut too good for Czech Jiri Vesely.

The 17th-seeded Bautista Agut broke Vesely on six occasions in a 6-3 6-4 6-3 win.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world