Fritz and Hurkacz Pull Out of Munich Open, Rising Star Mensik Steps In
The 2025 Munich Open has taken a hit with Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz both withdrawing from next week’s tournament. The good news? Teen sensation Jakub Mensik has stepped in as a replacement.
This year’s event has been upgraded to ATP 500 status from its previous 250 ranking, which helped attract big names like Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Matteo Berrettini to the German clay court tournament.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| cz Jakub Mensik | 19 | 708 | 10 - 6 |
Fritz and Hurkacz were also set to play, but their withdrawals mean both players will have to delay the start of their clay court seasons even longer.
Fritz, who finished runner-up at last year’s US Open, is dealing with an abdominal injury that flared up during his Miami Open semifinal loss to Mensik. This same issue forced him to skip the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters.
The American first mentioned the problem back in February when he pulled out of the Mexican Open in Acapulco. He thought he’d recovered when he returned for the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami.
But the pain came back during his battle with Mensik. Despite the injury, Fritz nearly won that match, only losing in a final-set tiebreak.
It’s especially frustrating timing for Fritz, who had his best-ever clay season in 2024. He reached his first clay court final right here in Munich last year, finishing runner-up to Jan-Lennard Struff.
He also made it to the fourth round of the French Open for the first time, winning an epic five-setter against Thanasi Kokkinakis before losing to clay specialist Casper Ruud.
In a strange twist of fate, Fritz’s spot in the draw goes to the very player who aggravated his injury – Jakub Mensik. The young star’s ranking is actually high enough to be seeded in Munich, though he hadn’t initially planned to play the event.
Mensik skipped Monte-Carlo after his breakthrough win at the Miami Open, where the 19-year-old stunned Novak Djokovic in straight sets (7-6, 7-6) to claim his first Masters 1000 title.
While Mensik has mostly shined on hard courts so far, he’s no slouch on clay. He proved that last year with an impressive win over Grigor Dimitrov at the Madrid Open.
Hurkacz’s situation is equally concerning. He’s also missing Monte-Carlo due to a lower back injury that forced him to withdraw from Miami.
It’s been a tough stretch for the Polish star since last year’s Wimbledon. He retired from his second-round match against Arthur Fils with a knee injury that initially looked serious.
Though he returned faster than expected, Hurkacz then had to retire from his Cincinnati Open quarterfinal against Frances Tiafoe with a calf problem. This back issue marks his third injury in less than a year.
Veteran David Goffin has also entered the Munich draw. The Belgian made headlines in Miami when he shocked Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 64.
