Daniil Medvedev reveals if he will skip French Open in future after his 7th first round exit
Daniil Medvedev has spoken after his surprise opening round loss at the 2026 French Open, and he addressed his disappointing record at the Paris Grand Slam.
The sixth seed fell 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1, 4-6 to world No 97 Adam Walton at Roland Garros in a match of violent momentum swings amid soaring temperatures in Paris.
The former world No 1 now holds an underwhelming 10-10 record at the French Open after suffering his seventh first round exit in 10 appearances on the Parisian clay.
Medvedev, who won the US Open in 2021 and is also a five-time runner-up at Grand Slams, has an impressive 82-25 (76.6%) record across the other three majors.
In his post-match press conference, Medvedev gave a clear response when asked if he would consider skipping Roland Garros in the future.
“No, no, no, no, no… I mean, unless I’m injured, of course,” said the 30-year-old Russian.
“But no, I mean, even one time I had this hernia injury, and I could consider skipping it and prepare for Wimbledon, like, being more, let’s even call it, healthy.
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“But no, I want to play Grand Slams. I know that I am in good shape and I can play well in Roland Garros, as well. I can. It’s just tougher for me, and first rounds are usually tougher for me, but I will always come here.
“Maybe I should consider playing a tournament before, which I usually don’t do before Grand Slams, but I mean, when it doesn’t work, why not? So that’s the only thing I will consider next year.”
Medvedev went on to assert that he knows the reason for his struggles at the French Open, but he did not want to share this insight.
“I don’t want to find excuses. I know why I don’t really play, always, my best in Roland Garros, but if I say it it’s excuses, so I keep it to myself,” he declared.
Asked to explain the unpredictable nature of his results and performances in 2026, Medvedev said: “Every tournament has different court, different balls.
“What else? I mean, I can be different every day. I don’t like to [get] up early, and I’m usually less performative when I [get] up at 6:50 in the morning, and I like to sleep in.
“So this is just part of small, in general, let’s say in tennis you need to adapt to these things, and sometimes, I’m not good enough to adapt to it. And sometimes I am. And that’s basically all I can tell you.”
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