Alex de Minaur’s Roland Garros campaign came to an end in the third round, marking another chapter in a fairly disappointing season for the 27-year-old.
De Minaur lost to Jakub Mensik in four sets, with the Czech star responding well to being handed a bagel in the opening, winning 0-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
The Australian has struggled to build any sort of momentum in 2026, with early exits at several big tournaments.
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Following a quarterfinal finish at the Australian Open, De Minaur crashed out in his opening matches at in Indian Wells, Madrid and Rome.
Now, after another short-lived run, the world number seven admitted he was ‘very disappointed’ in himself.
Alex de Minaur reacts after exiting Roland Garros 2026
Speaking in his post-match press conference, De Minaur said: “It’s pretty disappointing.
“I missed opportunities, took my foot off the gas and let him back into the match. Then it was a little bit of what has been happening the last month, I could not get out of the cycle. It’s very unlike me.
“Very disappointed in myself, because under all circumstances this is the type of match that I need to find a way to win.
“He has come from a physical battle, I am fresh as they come. It’s just not good.
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“The stuff that has been happening in the last month is stuff that has not really happened to me in my career before. I am just trying to find reasons and solutions for it but it’s not problems that I have had before.
“On the contrary, I always felt that I was that guy. A dog with a bone who won’t let go or stop until the very end.
“Today I just, I don’t really understand what happened or what I did or what changed. I let him back in.”
Alex de Minaur says he is in a ‘weird state at the moment’
Asked if he will take some time off after exiting Roland Garros, De Minaur replied: “I really don’t know.
“I am in a weird state at the moment where I have put in a lot and recently I have not felt like I have got a lot back.
“So I am trying to find that balance. You put your head down, get back to work, there’s no other way forward than to go through. That’s the mentality that I have had my whole career.
“But I feel like it’s been a long couple of years of that type of mentality, and maybe that’s taking a little bit of a toll on me right now. I don’t know, I really don’t. I don’t know what the solution is.
“Whether it’s to try and go and play matches and get confidence back and wins under the belt and just go that way. Or the opposite. To say, let’s forget about tennis for a little while and make sure I come back missing it.”
De Minaur’s loss added to the growing list of top-ten players bowing out of the tournament, with the draw now wide open.
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