Jannik Sinner avoided an upset on Tuesday to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but it came in an unfortunate fashion.
Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire in the match despite winning the first two sets off of Sinner. The Bulgarian suffered an injury during the third set and was unable to continue, allowing Sinner to move on.
Had Dimitrov been able to pull off the upset, he would’ve been facing a golden opportunity to advance in the tournament and potentially make his first major final. Instead, the 34-year-old is headed home with another injury.
Here’s the latest on what happened to Dimitrov.
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What happened to Grigor Dimitrov?
After taking the first two sets of his match against Sinner, Dimitrov was forced to retire in the middle of the third set due to what appeared to be a pec injury. The injury seemed to happen during the fourth game of the third set when Dimitrov tied things at 2-2 but was uncomfortable after winning his final point.
Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire from his match against top-seeded Jannik Sinner after appearing to injure his right pectoral.
Dimitrov had won the first two sets of the match. pic.twitter.com/f5mB6Lp1eL
— ESPN (@espn) July 7, 2025
Dimitrov was visibly in pain while holding his right side, which may indicate a pec injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, it’s hard to imagine he could’ve been able to play through the injury to try and win the match.
After getting looked at by doctors, Dimitrov came out of the locker room. to inform Sinner that he would not be able to continue.
A sight we never want to see.
Grigor Dimitrov is forced to retire while leading two sets to love. Everyone at #Wimbledon is wishing you a speedy recovery, Grigor 💚💜 pic.twitter.com/qBwiMbq3e2
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025
While Sinner advances to the quarterfinals as a result, the top-ranked player did not feel like this was a victory. Additionally, he feels for Dimitrov for not being able to compete at the highest levels.
“He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years,” Sinner said. “I don’t take this as a win at all; this is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.”
“I don’t take this as a win at all.”
Jannik Sinner was full of respect for his friend Grigor Dimitrov after he was forced to retire.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/bQTsxUM8Mu
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2025
Grigor Dimitrov injury history
Dimitrov has now been forced to retire due to injury in each of his past five major appearances. While two of those came in the first round, Dimitrov had to retire in the U.S. Open quarterfinals against Frances Tiafoe and the Wimbledon fourth round against Daniil Medvedev in 2024.
However, in each of those latter two retirements, Dimitrov was down in the match at the time of the injury. This time around, the veteran had to retire when he was in clear control of the match.
