Frances Tiafoe goes against his team's advice in shocking decision to retire mid-match against Holger Rune at Cincinnati Open

Frances Tiafoe recently went against his team's advice and retired mid-game against Holger Rune at the Cincinnati Open. The American was also visibly upset during the matching, smashing a ball into the crowd as he expressed his frustrations.

At the 2024 Cincinnati Open, Tiafoe reached the finals before going down to Jannik Sinner. As he looked to one-up himself this time around, the 27-year-old got his campaign in Ohio off to a promising start, claiming straight set wins over Roberto Carballés Baena and Ugo Humbert in his first two matches.

On Wednesday (August 13), Frances Tiafoe took on seventh seed Holger Rune for his round of 16 clash at the Cincinnati Open. The American struggled with back spasms towards the end of the first game, and subsequently received a medical timeout.

However, Tiafoe's pain failed to get better. While the former finalist’s team insisted that he continue to play and wait for the medication to kick in, he eventually withdrew from the match with Rune leading 6-4 3-1 40-15.

With the US Open right around the corner, it remains to be seen if Tiafoe's pain hampers him at his home Major.

Holger Rune reacts to Frances Tiafoe's mid-game retirement

Rune and Tiafoe at the Cincinnati Open 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

The round of 16 encounter between Frances Tiafoe and Holger Rune at the Cincinnati Open promised to present fans with some exciting action. However, with the former's mid-game retirement, many, including Rune, were left disappointed.

Speaking to media after the match, Rune spoke about his opponent’s injury, saying,

“From 4-4, when I got the break and at 5-4 when he had the medical timeout, that’s when I felt something was not right with him and after obviously, I could see he was struggling a little bit.”

The Dane went on to extend his best wishes to Frances Tiafoe for his recovery, adding,

As the game is, I tried to move him as much as possible. It’s never nice to finish a match like this and I wish him the best recovery.”

Prior to their battle on Wednesday, Tiafoe and Runs had played each other only once. At the 2024 Cincinnati Open, the duo had squared off against each other in the semifinals, with the American claiming a hard-fought win over the course of three sets.

Now, after his anti-climactic win over Tiafoe, Holger Rune is set to take on Terence Atmane in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open.