Cerúndolo continues to struggle and erupts in Cincinnati: "I hate this tour with my life, I want to go to Buenos Aires"
The Argentine, after losing in his debut in Cincinnati, has accumulated four defeats in the five matches following his success at Queen's.
Fran Cerúndolo remains caught in a crisis of form and results. After the greatest success of his career last June by winning the ATP 500 at Queen’s, the Argentine has only secured one victory in the five tournaments he has played since. The latest came in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, where he lost to Nuno Borges 6-4, 6-4, and will arrive at the US Open with more doubts than convictions.
What seemed like a mere accident at Wimbledon, where he lost to Jaume Munar in the first round, became serious as more defeats piled up. He exited in the second round at the ATP 250 Los Cabos against Arthur Géa, made his debut in the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati against Alex Michelsen, and faced elimination today at the hands of Nuno Borges.
This is how Fran Cerúndolo exploded a day before his match against Borges in Cincinnati
In fact, before playing his match against the Portuguese, he had a practice set the day before with Joao Fonseca, and during it, the older Cerúndolo brother exploded: "I can't play, I want to leave. I don't want to play anymore. I hate this tour with my life, I want to go back to Buenos Aires," he cursed towards his team. These words are very similar to those he expressed midway through his match at Roland Garros against Zachary Svajda, where he also ended up losing: "You're terrible, idiot, don't lie to me anymore," "convince me," "I'm not going to win today."
— NK GOAT (@nk_goat) August 16, 2026
These statements indicate a tennis and mental state far from his best level. The world number 25 found an oasis on the grass of Queen’s. But before that, his results on clay, his best surface, were not as expected. He fulfilled his dream of winning at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires in February, but then a series of irregular results followed in the clay court tour that began in April.
He reached the third round in the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, quarter-finals in the ATP 500 in Munich, round of 16 in the Mutua Madrid Open, third round in the Masters 1000 in Rome, first round in the ATP 500 in Hamburg, and third round in Roland Garros.
These results demonstrate that the Argentine not only has failed to raise his level this year, something essential to remain at the top of the elite in tennis, but he has significantly lowered it.
Now Fran Cerúndolo has only the US Open left to finish a tour that he has already expressed he "hates." The expectations for his performance in New York will be minimal. Meanwhile, he will have the last stretch of the season, including the Asian tour and the indoor European tour, to end 2026 on a more positive note.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Cerúndolo sigue sin levantar cabeza y estalla en Cincinnati: "Esta gira la odio con mi vida, me quiero ir a Buenos Aires"