Cameron Norrie was forced to withdraw mid-match during his opening round encounter at Roland-Garros, succumbing to a rib injury that has plagued him for more than a week.
The British number one, seeded 20th in Paris, departed the court trailing Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 7-6(7) 2-0 after squandering a 5-1 advantage in the first-set tiebreak.
The 30-year-old requested medical assistance early in the second set before ultimately conceding the contest.
This marks an unprecedented moment in Norrie's career, representing his maiden retirement on the professional tour.
Cameron Norrie was unable to continue against Adolfo Daniel Vallejo
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His sole previous walkover occurred at a Futures tournament back in 2014. The world number 24 had disclosed the injury to journalists on Saturday, revealing he had not yet trained at the venue.
Norrie traced the problem back to an intense training session with top-ten player Ben Shelton at Monte-Carlo Country Club on 10 May. The pair contested a five-set practice match lasting nearly five hours.
"I played best-of-five with Ben Shelton. We play close to five hours. So it was so good, so fun. But maybe I, in hindsight now, maybe overtrained and overprepared and loving my tennis too much, maybe could have rested a few more days, and I maybe went to Geneva a bit early. So, all hindsight, but yeah, it's frustrating," Norrie explained before the tournament.
The Briton acknowledged he probably should have pulled out of his Geneva opener six days ago, where he fell to Mariano Navone in straight sets despite carrying the injury.
Laura Robson, speaking to TNT Sports, noted that Norrie had been battling the rib complaint for the past week and a half.
"Really unfortunate. He was in such good form coming into the tournament and really enjoying his tennis. That's just really difficult. It's one of those injuries you can't play through and you get the feeling if it's going to get worse, you're putting the rest of your season at risk. He does look pretty upset," she observed.
Cameron Norrie was in good form going into the French Open but his exit means all British men are out already
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Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong expressed sympathy for the situation. "It's sad. You never want to see a player go out of a tournament like this, especially at a Grand Slam," she said, adding that Norrie possesses exceptional pain tolerance and rarely abandons matches.
Keothavong suggested an MRI scan would be necessary given the variable severity of such injuries.
Norrie now faces a challenging recovery period ahead of the grass court campaign. The Queen's Club tournament commences on 15 June, giving him roughly three weeks to regain fitness, while Wimbledon begins on 29 June.
Former world number four Johanna Konta highlighted the complications such injuries can create. "This is not the situation you want to find yourself in as a player. It's one of those injuries that can affect other areas and things can go wrong in other places because as soon as you start compensating, you can't breathe properly or move properly, it's more likely you'll pull something else. There's a knock-on effect. I really feel for him and you can see he's just gutted," she said.
The early exit will likely damage Norrie's ranking, having progressed to the fourth round at this venue twelve months ago.