The entry list for next week's 2025 Munich Open has been dealt a blow after Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz withdrew. Still, Jakub Mensik's inclusion as a replacement might be some comfort to tournament organizers.
This year's Munich Open will be an ATP 500 tournament, upgraded from 250 in previous years. That change ensured the involvement of top players like Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Matteo Berrettini.
Fritz and Hurkacz also planned to compete in Germany, but both men have been forced to withdraw from the tournament, further delaying the start of their clay court seasons.
2024 US Open runner-up Fritz also pulled out of the ongoing 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters because of an abdominal injury he aggravated in his 2025 Miami Open semifinal defeat against Mensik.
Fritz previously mentioned in February that he had been playing with an abdominal problem when announcing his withdrawal from the 2025 Mexican Open in Acapulco. The American had hoped the injury was recovered when he returned in Indian Wells and Miami.
Unfortunately, that problem began to bother him again in the battle against Mensik. Considering the pain he was feeling, Fritz did remarkably well to come close to victory, falling in a deciding set tiebreak.
Fritz's injury has prevented him from trying to build on the best clay court season of his career in 2024. That included finishing as the runner-up to Jan-Lennard Struff in Munich, his first final on clay.
The 2024 ATP Finals runner-up also reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time. He won an epic five-set battle in the third round against Thansi Kokkinakis before falling to Casper Ruud.
Ironically, Fritz was replaced on the entry list by the man against whom he aggravated his injury against. Mensik's ranking is good enough to be among the seeds in Munich, but he had not initially planned to play at the event.
Mensik changed his schedule and skipped the Monte-Carlo Masters after stunningly winning the 2025 Miami Open title. The 19-year-old defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 in the final to seal his maiden Masters 1000 crown and become a worldwide name.
Although Mensik's best results so far have come on hard courts, he is capable of performing well on any surface. He proved that with an impressive win against Grigor Dimitrov in the 2024 Madrid Open.
Hurkacz also could not play at the Monte-Carlo Masters because of an injury. He withdrew from the Miami Open because of a lower back injury and has not recovered from the issue in time for the event in Munich.
That continues a frustrating period for Hurkacz since last year's Wimbledon. The Pole retired from his second-round match at SW19 against Arthur Fils because of a knee injury, and there were fears he may be out for several months.
Hurkacz returned much quicker than expected, but then retired from his quarterfinal match at the 2024 Cincinnati Open against Frances Tiafoe with a calf injury. The lower back issue became his third injury within the last year.
David Goffin is the other man to enter the Munich Open entry list. The veteran Belgian created headlines at the Miami Open by stunning Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 64.
