Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 2026 Australian Open campaign didn’t exactly go to plan.
Entering the tournament as the number-seven seed, Auger-Aliassime made a fast start, winning the first set of his opening match 6-3.
Things quickly started to unravel, though, as the Canadian lost the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-4, to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
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Then, before the start of the fourth set, Auger-Aliassime, struggling with cramp, retired from the match, sending Borges through to the second round.
Auger-Aliassime’s defeat was one of the big upsets of the first round of the 2026 Australian Open.
Former world number one Andy Roddick was keen to comment on the 25-year-old’s shock defeat.
Andy Roddick questions whether ‘something else’ is going on with Felix Auger-Aliassime
During the latest episode of ‘Quick Served‘, the American shared his thoughts on Auger-Aliassime’s cramps.
“It’s a strange one, man, because you look up and he’s fit, he’s professional, you don’t feel like he’s the kind of guy that’s not going to work,” said Roddick.
“Played long into last year, had a lot of reps US Open and beyond, went from 28 in the world to five in the world. Maybe you need more time; you have to balance rest vs kicking it up and being ready to play five sets.
Matches Felix Auger-Aliassime played at the end of 2025
| Tournament | Month(s) | Result | Matches played |
| 2025 US Open | August/September | Lost in SF to Jannik Sinner | 6 |
| 2025 Shanghai Masters | October | Lost in QF to Arthur Rinderknech | 4 |
| 2025 Swiss Indoors | October | Lost in QF to Jaume Munar | 3 |
| 2025 Paris Masters | October/November | Lost in F to Jannik Sinner | 6 |
| 2025 ATP Finals | November | Lost in SF to Carlos Alcaraz | 4 |
| Total | August-November | – | 23 |
“But also, we just don’t ever know what someone is going through.
“I have no inside information on FAA [Felix Auger-Aliassime]. What I do know is that he said he was cramping at the end of the second set or the beginning of the third set. When he stopped with cramps, they were two hours and nine minutes into the match.
“I don’t think the conditions were extreme, I don’t think they were crazy, which means he started feeling cramps at 1 hour 20, which is not the time you would see someone cramp unless there’s something else going on.”
Roddick has a feeling that something is not right with Auger-Aliassime, after watching the ‘biggest upset’ of the 2026 Australian Open.
“I don’t know what happened. Here’s what I know, FAA is not a guy to be cramped or unprepared at an hour and 20, and then fight it, that seems really weird to me,” he said.
“I don’t know what the reasoning is, but I circled that, and that seems like a really weird outlier.
“That’s strange, but the biggest upset so far.”
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The 43-year-old shared an anecdote from his career, when he silently suffered from an illness.
“I remember one year at the US Open, it was 2011, I won my third round against Julien Benneteau, got sick that night, it was coming from everywhere!” said Roddick.
“It rained for three days. I don’t think I would have been able to play with one day’s rest. I was cooked, fever, depleted.
“It rained three days in a row, so the match that I had next against David Ferrer, I remember in that match, in the fourth set, probably a couple of hours in, I was shortening everything, serve and volleying.
“End up winning that match, but imagine being up 4-3, a break, and knowing that you only have 15 minutes left to play.
“My hand was starting to do the claw, cramping. So I’m like, alright, you’re up two sets, in line to win, and also, I’m the only person that knows, if I don’t actually close this out right here, I’m going to be on the ground with cramps in 30 minutes.
“It wasn’t because I wasn’t fit or not prepared, it was something beyond that.
“I still remember Ferrer walking past me in the locker room. I’m in full body cramps, lying on the ground, moaning, screaming, and he gently had to walk over me. How annoying is that?
“And the next day, because the schedule got pushed back, I had to play against Rafa [Nadal]. How do you think that went?
“Not well.”
Andy Roddick at the 2011 US Open
- 1R [WIN] vs Michael Russell, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
- 2R [WIN] vs Jack Sock, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
- 3R [WIN] vs Julien Benneteau, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6
- 4R [WIN] vs David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
- QF [LOSS] vs Rafael Nadal, 2-6, 1-6, 3-6
It’s not yet known whether Auger-Aliassime was struggling from illness as Roddick was in 2011, but it’s certainly an interesting theory…
What’s next for Felix Auger-Aliassime after Australian Open heartbreak?
Auger-Aliassime will now rest up ahead of his return to tennis at the Rotterdam Open.
The Canadian will be joined by some of the sport’s biggest stars in the Netherlands.
Top eight seeds at the 2026 Rotterdam Open
- [1] Carlos Alcaraz
- [2] Alexander Zverev
- [3] Alex de Minaur
- [4] Felix Auger-Aliassime
- [5] Alexander Bublik
- [6] Daniil Medvedev
- [7] Jack Draper
- [8] Karen Khachanov
Auger-Aliassime will be up against it, but has previously enjoyed success in Rotterdam, winning the title in 2022.
Only time will tell if he can repeat the feat in 2026, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action when the tournament begins on Monday, February 9.
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