The Acapulco tournament has been hit hard by a wave of illnesses affecting several top players. A stomach bug has caused multiple high-profile withdrawals and retirements, significantly impacting the event.
Among the affected players are Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, and Tommy Paul. Ruud, who was the second seed and last year’s finalist, had to withdraw before his match against Rodrigo Pacheco Méndez due to a stomach illness. Rune, the fourth seed, started his match against Brandon Nakashima but was forced to retire after just three games, also citing food poisoning. Tommy Paul, the third seed, pulled out of his match against Marcos Giron for similar reasons.
The illness has not only led to withdrawals but also affected the performance of those who managed to play. Alexander Zverev, the top seed, struggled with stomach issues and lost to teenager Learner Tien in straight sets. Alex Michelsen, who played against Denis Shapovalov, required on-court treatment before losing the match.
This outbreak has been a major blow to the tournament organizers, as many of the star attractions have been unable to compete or perform at their best. The situation has sparked discussions about the potential causes and the measures needed to prevent such occurrences in the future.
Since these defections were beneficial for Jannik Sinner to keep his world no.1 rank after his suspensions, the fans didn’t miss the opportunity to have a good laugh about this.
This was a hilarious post on X.
Jannik Sinner in 2025
Ranked world no.1, Jannik played his last match on the 26th of January when he defeated world no.2 Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 20th career title.
Presently, during this year Sinner owns a compiled 7-0 match record. This year, the Italian clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.