Ugo Humbert – the hometown hero who stole hearts by making it to last year’s Paris Masters final was supposed to bring the magic back. But just like that, the dream hit pause… Days before his first match, Humbert announced he’s pulling out. The 27-year-old French No. 1, fresh off a finals run in Stockholm and a semifinal in Basel, looked unstoppable until injury forced him to retire against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina last week. Humbert will now miss the Top 30 for the first time since 2023 as his runner-up points from the previous season start to fade. What specifically caused him to withdraw, however, is the true question.

It turns out that Ugo Humbert’s unexpected absence was caused by more than just bad timing; it was the nagging back injury that had been bothering him for weeks, thou

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