ROLAND GARROS

May 24, 2025

Ugo Humbert

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ugo, how do you feel, and how is your hand?

UGO HUMBERT: Well, I'm fine. I started back again this week, and my hand is a lot better. So I'm starting to hit my backhand properly, and I'm very happy to be on the court again.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. To keep going on about your hand, you still had a very good backhand recently in your training, but your preparation surely wasn't optimal for Roland Garros. How do you feel?

UGO HUMBERT: Well, the preparation wasn't completely optimal because I didn't play a lot of matches because it was a little bit difficult to go and play. So it wasn't a period that was easy for me, but physically I trained well, and I kept training hard.

The goal is necessarily to win or to have results, but it was to continue to compete and to continue to maintain the rhythm so that I can be on back to 90 to 95 percent of my backhand so I'm ready for matches, so I'm very happy, if only for that.

For me it's quite a surprise. I started again this week, and at the beginning I was sore for 15, 20 minutes. At the beginning there was constant pain, but now after 30, 45 minutes I don't really feel it anymore, and I can really go ahead with my backhand. So I'm happy for that.

Q. Speaking about your game, will you have to adapt it? Now you're getting to the end of your injury. Do you think it's a good thing that you played Monte Carlo, that you continued on clay in spite of this injury?

UGO HUMBERT: It was a choice that you have to make because I just had to continue, and I knew that the results weren't going to be amazing.

Was I going to stop? That was the option, but I think if had stopped, I would have been unhappy not to have tried. When you look back at the end of Madrid and Rome, it was hard for me because I'm somebody when I go to a tournament, I go to go right to the end. Otherwise, I'm not interested.

So sometimes I lost the meaning of competing. It was hard to focus on the fact that I was going into a tournament just to compete. When you go to compete, you are there to win, so it's hard mentally. That's why I didn't go to Hamburg and I rested for a while.

So at the end it was an experience. You've got to keep the positive sides and say that I was able to develop other aspects of my game. When I get back to 100 percent, I'm happy to be back.

Q. So can you come back to --

UGO HUMBERT: I'm coming back to classical game. I'm trying to use my forehand, but it was hard because, in fact, when I started a point, I didn't have the same confidence. If I used my backhand, there was one chance in two that I was going to miss the ball.

Sort of like when you have a forehand and you try to force it, you don't play in the same way. You serve differently. You know, you don't give them free points. You want to use your backhand, but now I'm finding my classical game where I can really keep going with my backhand properly on the court, and that's good for me.

Q. I imagine that if you continued to play, it wasn't dangerous in a medical sense of the word. What did you have to do to heal your hand? Was it a question of just waiting? Did you have treatment? Was there something that was forbidden for you? Was pain the only parameter?

UGO HUMBERT: The only thing that my doctor said, said that we can't do much for you even in terms of treatment. I couldn't do anything apart from using ice, but the doctor said that the fact of playing wasn't going to make it worse.

When I was playing, sort of like I my hand was swollen and was sore, so I couldn't do anything more. So I stopped playing for a few days, and I felt that it was good for me.

So you've got to be patient, and I went and I did some X-rays. The fracture is consolidated now, so that's positive, but I still have an edema, but that will be resolved in about one or two months. I risk have a little bit of pain, but I'm happy I'm playing for 30 minutes, and I didn't feel anything. So that was good.

Q. With respect to your new structure because you changed your coach, you've got Fabrice Martin now, and it was also a period during when you were able to chat about different things with him, but after a few weeks, after a few months of experience with him, how do you feel in this new structure?

UGO HUMBERT: Very well. I feel good. We've got a super team together. We're together, and my nutritionist is also there this week. So it's a pleasure to work with them. I feel really good.

It was a period that wasn't easy for me before. It wasn't pleasant for me because I wasn't very pleasant either because I was stressed. I had pain, and it was hard to go onto the court and put up with things. So I must have been very hard on my team as well, so it wasn't easy. They're really great people, and I'm very happy to be working with them.