A hand injury isn’t the kind of thing any tennis star wants to be carrying into a Grand Slam. But that’s what French world no. 10 Gaël Monfils has to deal with, because he ended up smashing his hand while playing console games.
The injury isn’t serious enough to stop Monfils from playing in the Australian Open. But it’s aggravating enough that he told press that he couldn’t volley as much as he’d like.
“I was playing a video game in my bedroom and hit my right hand against the headboard of the bed,” Monfils said during a press conference. “The real treatment would be rest, but since I can’t, I have taken anti-inflammatory drugs and put ice on it.”
“It’s getting better; I feel pretty positive even though I have to take a day off after some big and challenging practice sessions,” Tennis World USA reported.
The injury hasn’t affected his performance so far – he won his first match in straight sets and got past Ivo Karlović in four. Monfils faces off against 31-year-old Ernests Gulbis tomorrow, and he already has an advantage: while Monfils has a slightly dodgy hand, Gulbis only has one set of shoes left to last him for the entire tournament.
“I’m not sure who is [size] 46 Adidas,” Gulbis told ATP Tour. “I don’t know. I don’t know. Dominic [Thiem] is a smaller size. [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, I don’t know what size he is. It’s funny to even think about it. It’s unbelievable.”
Still not as embarrassing as injuring your hand in bed, though.
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