Roman Safiullin is becoming one of the great stories of Wimbledon 2026. After defeating Joao Fonseca and reaching the fourth round at the All England Club, the Russian tennis player broke down in tears as he recalled his ordeal with injuries, revealing that he didn't know if he would be able to play tennis again just a few months ago.
Still on the court, Safiullin was asked what it means to him to return to the Wimbledon quarterfinals after reaching the same stage in 2023, and he couldn't hold back his emotions. "After the US Open, I had to stop to treat my injury. It was a very tough time. Even half a year ago, I didn't know if I could play tennis again. I didn't know. I am very happy to be back here," he said tearfully as the entire crowd applauded.
2026, Safiullin's year of redemption
After falling in the second round of the US Open 2025, the Russian tennis player had to pause due to an injury that kept him out of the circuit until last February, dropping him out of the top 100 and back to the Challenger circuit. During the clay court season, he won two tournaments, climbing significantly in the rankings, and even made it through the qualifying rounds at Roland Garros and came close to beating Casper Ruud in the first round. However, tennis still had an even better story in store for him just a few weeks later.
Once again, Roman made it through the Wimbledon qualifiers with an epic match in the final qualifier, defeated Andrey Rublev in five sets in the first round, and did the same against Botic Van de Zandschulp in the second round. As if that wasn't enough, he has now swept aside Joao Fonseca and has returned to the top 100, as a reward for many months of sacrifice that have finally paid off. Today, tennis is a little more beautiful thanks to stories like his.
Cette actualité est une traduction automatique. Vous pouvez lire la nouvelle originale Safiullin rompe a llorar recordando su lesión tras meterse octavos de Wimbledon

