Grigor Dimitrov reveals the ‘humbling’ realisation he had during his recovery from injury

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Grigor Dimitrov spent the majority of the 2025 season’s second half sidelined with a pectoral injury.

Dimitrov injured his pectoral muscle during his fourth-round clash with Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last year, during which he was closing in on an upset victory.

The Bulgarian was two sets up against the eventual champion, but after serving an ace to make it 2-2 in the third, he fell to the floor in pain and ultimately retired from the contest.

He was out of action from June until October, making his return at the Shanghai Masters, where he won one match before withdrawing from the tournament.

Now, reflecting on his time away from tennis after a first-round win at the 2026 Indian Wells Open, Dimitrov revealed he had a ‘humbling’ realisation about himself.

Grigor Dimitrov recalls his time away from tennis due to injury

Speaking to Tennis Channel, Dimitrov said: “Well, everything was new. I never really had to step away from the court for such a long time.

“I started exploring a lot more than I thought I could ever stretch myself to, if that makes sense. I completely got away from the sport, which, now when I look at it, I think was not a bad idea.

“But it also shows how difficult it is, once you lose the reins a little bit, you really have to be so self-conscious and self-aware in terms of discipline, hard work, and ideas of what you want your game to look like.

“There are so many components, and it made me realise even more how difficult what we do actually is.

“So yeah, from that perspective I truly saw a whole other world. It’s kind of humbling at the same time, but it also makes me appreciate what I’ve been doing for so long.

“You know, as players we always keep going, keep going all the time, and you never really have a minute to process a win or a loss.

“But then, for the first time in my career, I was able to really stop and turn around and see the road travelled, and it was pretty cool. I was proud.”

Grigor Dimitrov’s results so far on the ATP Tour this season

Despite staying healthy so far in 2026, results have not gone the way of Dimitrov this season.

Prior to his campaign in Indian Wells, Dimitrov had won just one match this year, which came in his first tournament appearance at the Brisbane International.

He then suffered three consecutive first-round exits at the Australian Open, the Dallas Open and the Mexican Open, winning only one set across the treble of defeats.

In his first match in Indian Wells, however, Dimitrov got back in the win column with a victory over Terence Atmane.

Dimitrov will play world number one Carlos Alcaraz in his next match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.