Pouille undergoes elbow surgery ahead of tour re-opening

He may be in a hospital bed for now, but don’t expect Lucas Pouille to miss out on this season because of it. The former Top 10 player recently underwent surgery on his right elbow, sidelining him for the return of the season as the tours are set to start up again in August.

“After new medical exams, it appeared it was the best solution in order to finally be able to play pain-free,” Pouille tweeted ahead of the operation. “I still hope to play before the end of the season.”

The world No. 53 has not competed since last fall, even missing the Australian Open, where he had reached the final four in 2019. However, the Frenchman was recently battling it out against the top players at the innovative Ultimate Tennis Showdown event. Unfortunately, he played only two matches and fell short in both.

"The operation went well and we will start the rehabilitation as soon as possible," Pouille wrote on Instagram.

Pouille expects to be back on the court as soon as possible. In the meantime, the UTS event will return this weekend with most of the original lineup, along with the additions of Grigor Dimitrov and Fernando Verdasco and two pre-qualified Top 20 competitors, which have yet to be announced.