Alex de Minaur’s withdrawal from the 2025 French Open due to a hip injury, announced on May 22, 2025, via The Sydney Morning Herald, has muted his battle cry for the largest Australian contingent at Roland Garros in 35 years, with 16 players in the main draw, per Yahoo News Australia. Before pulling out, de Minaur, nicknamed “Demon,” had rallied his compatriots with a bold call to make waves in Paris, declaring on Tennis.com.au on April 30, 2025, “I’m not here to make up numbers. I’m here to go deep and show I can hurt anyone on clay.” His 2024 Roland Garros quarterfinal—defeating Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 for his first top-five Grand Slam win—marked him as Australia’s spearhead, aiming to end a 48-year men’s Major drought since Mark Edmondson’s 1976 Australian Open triumph.
De Minaur’s absence leaves a void for the Aussie squad, with Jordan Thompson (No. 38) and Aleksandar Vukic (No. 78) now leading the men’s charge, alongside women’s players like Daria Saville, who faces Madison Keys after qualifying, and Ajla Tomljanovic, set to play Maya Joint. De Minaur’s clay evolution—boasting a 15-5 record in 2025, including a Monte Carlo semifinal where he crushed Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0—had positioned him as a title contender, with a first-round draw against Christopher Eubanks and a potential quarterfinal against Jannik Sinner. His withdrawal, prompted by a hip issue from Wimbledon 2024 that flared up in Paris practice, shifts focus to rehabilitation in Sydney, with Wimbledon as his next target.
Despite the setback, de Minaur’s pre-withdrawal battle cry resonates, urging Aussies to seize their historic opportunity. “We’ve got a strong group, and I believe we can all do damage,” he told Yahoo News Australia. Saville’s gritty qualifying win (2-6, 6-2, 6-4 over Taylor Townsend) and Joint’s Morocco WTA final run echo his call. Fans on X, like @TennisAus, mourned his absence but rallied behind the team, with one post stating, “Demon’s out, but the Aussies are still ready to fight.” De Minaur’s 2024 ATP Finals qualification—the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004—and No. 8 ranking (3,635 points, per Sofascore) keep him on the cusp of history, with his clay-court menace poised to return.
