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Arthur Fils has sparked major concerns after retiring just 22 minutes into his opening match at the Italian Open. The world No. 17 has been one of the most in-form players during the clay swing, and came into Rome with a 9-1 record on the surface. But he failed to win a game against Italian qualifier Andrea Pellegrino and called it quits while trailing 0-4 15-40.

Fils has since confirmed that he felt something in his hip during the second game of the match, and didn't want to take any risks. It's understandable, given the injury woes the 21-year-old has faced in his young career already.

Last year, Fils was forced to pull out of his home tournament, the French Open, due to a stress fracture in his back. That injury kept him sidelined until February of this year - barring one short-lived comeback attempt in Canada last July.

The Frenchman had been unstoppable since returning, and has already won a title in Barcelona, reached two Masters semi-finals, and finished runner-up in Doha. But he has now raised new fears after retiring less than half an hour into his first match at the Italian Open.

"I felt a pain in my hip during the second game," Fils told L'Equipe following his sudden retirement. "I tried everything during the match. I called the physio to try and treat it, but it didn't work. Unfortunately, I had to stop a little while later."

Fils couldn't provide any further information on the injury scare, but will no doubt have some answers in the coming days. He added: "These things happen.

"I'm going to get treatment, I'm going to talk with the team, we're going to make some decisions. I just couldn't take any risks before Roland Garros. There's no other information I can give."

The world No. 17 is one of several top players who have raised concerns about their health and fitness ahead of the French Open, which gets underway in two weeks. WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock third-round defeat in Rome on Saturday, and then revealed she had been dealing with a lower back issue.

"I'd say that probably it's like my lower back, connected to the hip, which kind of like limiting me from the full rotation. I guess we just going to have some days off. We're going to spend it on recovery. That's the plan I believe for now," she said after receiving a medical timeout before losing to Sorana Cirstea.

And Novak Djokovic appeared to be dealing with an illness during his opening-round defeat to Dino Prizmic on Friday. While he refused to disclose the details of the problem, he admitted: "I don't recall the last time I had, in the last couple years, a preparation where I didn't have any kind of physical issues or health issues coming into the tournament. There's always something. Kind of a new reality that I have to deal with."

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