Grigor Dimitrov extends unfortunate Grand Slam record with cruel Wimbledon retirement
Grigor Dimitrov’s 2025 Wimbledon campaign came to a cruel end as he was forced to retire while leading Jannik Sinner in the fourth round, a story all too familiar for the Bulgarian.
Seeded 19th at the grass-court Grand Slam, Dimitrov was sensational in the opening two sets on Centre Court as he won them 6-3, 7-5, but then his injury curse struck when he sent down an ace to make it 2-2 in the third.
The 34-year-old collapsed to the ground and was overcome with emotion. After receiving treatment off court, the disappointed Bulgarian returned to signal his retirement.
Having set a new record for most consecutive retirements at Grand Slams at the French Open, Dimitrov has now extended that unwanted record to five.
The unfortunate run started at Wimbledon 2024 when he retired from his fourth-round match against Daniil Medvedev due to an abductor tear and he exited the US Open in similar fashion a few months later as he called it quits during his quarter-final against Frances Tiafoe with a leg injury stating “I think it’s a combination of everything.”
The 2025 Grand Slam season started with a first-round retirement due to a hip injury shortly after losing the first set against Francesco Passaro before he retired from the 2025 French Open with a thigh injury while leading Ethan Quinn 6-2, 6-3, 2-6 in the first round.
And four became five with a right pectoral muscle injury robbing him of a potential quarter-final spot at Wimbledon.
That, though, was his 10th retirement in Grand Slams, and he tops the all-time list.
The 8 players with the most retirements in Grand Slams:
=4. Jerome Golmard – 6
The Frenchman competed from 1993 until 2006 and made 26 Grand Slam main draw appearances with six ending in retirements.
The first was in the second round at the 1997 US Open and a few months later he also called it quits in the round of 32 at the 1998 Australian Open. Two years later, he retired again from the US Open, this time in the round of 32 before first-round retirements from Wimbledon in 2002 and the Australian Open in 2003.
Golmard’s fifth retirement was in the second round of the 2004 Australian Open before his final one came at the US Open in the same year.
=4. Kei Nishikori – 6
Former world No 3 Nishikori’s maiden Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon in 2008 ended in first-round forfeiture due to an abdominal muscle strain and in 2010 he reached the third round at the US Open before a groin injury ended his campaign.
A back injury then forced him to retire from the first round at the 2011 US Open and he then enjoyed a four-year run with no Grand Slam retirements.
But the curse hit again at Wimbledon in 2016 with a rib injury in the fourth round while exhaustion was the reason for his decision to call it quits during his 2019 Australian Open quarter-final against Novak Djokovic.
His most recent retirement was in the second round at Roland Garros in 2024 when he quit due to a hip injury.
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=4. Gael Monfils – 6
The mercurial Monfils has retired from 25 top-level matches with six coming at Grand Slam level.
Seeded 12th at the 2009 Australian Open, the Frenchman reached the fourth round before a wrist injury forced him to throw in the towel after three sets against Gilles Simon.
Six years later, an elbow injury resulted in a first-round retirement at the US Open while a knee injury in the first round of the 2017 edition of the tournament made him throw in the towel. He made it a hat-trick of retirements at Flushing Meadows in 2018 with another wrist injury.
A back injury ended his 2019 Wimbledon campaign in the first round while another back injury forced him to quit in the fourth round of the 2025 Australian Open.
=3. Wayne Ferreira – 7
The South African turned professional in 1989 and retired in 2005, reaching a career-high No 6 in the ATP Rankings.
During his 57 Grand Slam main draw appearances, seven resulted in retirements with the first coming against Pete Sampras in the second round of the 1991 US Open.
Next was a first-round exit at the 1994 French Open and that was followed by a round of 16 retirement at the 1997 Australian Open, a third-round exit at the 1998 Australian Open, a first-round retirement at Wimbledon in 2001 and a quarter-final retirement at the 2002 Australian Open.
Ferreira’s final major retirement was in the third round of the 2003 French Open when a groin injury ended his tournament.
=3. Michael Llodra – 7
The Frenchman had 19 retirements during his career and his first one was in the opening round at Wimbledon in 2001. At the 2005 US Open and 2008 Wimbledon he suffered the same fate in the first round.
He reached the second round at Wimbledon in 2009 before retiring seven games into his match against Tommy Haas while at the 2010 US Open he made the third round before calling it quits.
Llodra’s final two Grand Slam retirements came in the second round at Wimbledon in 2013 and the same stage at the US Open the following year.
=3. Novak Djokovic – 7
The great Novak Djokovic had a reputation for retiring during the early stages of his career, but he has well and truly moved on from that.
His first Grand Slam retirement came at the 2005 French Open when he struggled with breathing and cramping issues during his second-round match against Guillermo Coria and he again exited in the same fashion the following year, this time during a lower-back injury in the quarter-final against Rafael Nadal.
Seeded fourth at Wimbledon in 2007, he again faced Nadal and this time a foot injury resulted in his demise.
His 2009 Australian Open retirement resulted in Andy Roddick’s infamous comment that “he’s not the guy who’s never given up before, so that’s kind of disappointing to see” after the Serbian quit in the last eight.
It would be another eight years before he retired again during a major as his 2017 Wimbledon campaign ended in heartbreak in the quarter-final due to an elbow injury, which required surgery.
His elbow also forced him to quit during his 2019 US Open round of 16 clash against Stan Wawrinka while his most recent retirement was at the 2025 Australian Open when he retired in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
2. Janko Tipsarevic – 8
The Serbian had 24 retirements during his career with eight taking place at Grand Slam level.
His first two came in 2007 as he started the year with a retirement from his second-round match at the Australian Open and finished with a second-round exit at the US Open. Tipsarevic also failed to finish his first-round match at the 2008 US Open after retiring early in the second set.
At the 2009 French Open he reached the third round, but was unable to complete his match against Andy Murray with a hip problem.
A groin injury forced him to throw in the towel at Wimbledon in 2011 and a left injury ended his quarter-final match against Djokovic at the US Open later in the year.
He was seeded eighth at the 2013 Australian Open, but he retired in the fourth round due to a jarred heel.
Retirement No 8 – which was a record at the time – came at Wimbledon in 2017 when he quit after being 5-0 down in the opening set.
1. Grigor Dimitrov – 10
The Bulgarian made his Grand Slam debut in 2009 at Wimbledon and it ended in heartbreak as he suffered a knee injury during his first-round match. Three years later at the grass-court major, he reached the second round before injury again forced him to quit.
It would be another nine years before he retired again from a Grand Slam match, he was leading 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 0-3 against Marcos Giron in the first round at Roland Garros when a back injury ended his campaign. Later in the year a foot injury forced him out of his round of 32 match at the US Open.
A leg injury resulted in his 2022 first-round retirement at Wimbledon before his string of five consecutive retirements from Wimbledon 2024 until Wimbledon 2025 gave him a new record.
