Dan Evans launches X-rated rant at injury excuse culture in tennis

Dan Evans has hit out at tennis stars who moan about injury or illness to explain away defeats, saying they should: ‘Just f***ing shake the guy’s hand and say well done.’

Fatigue and tennis’s packed schedule has been a hot topic this year, with many top players complaining of burnout and talk swirling of a revamp to the calendar. 

But 35-year-old Evans, never one to mince words, said: ‘In general I am fed up with sportspeople who, when they lose, there is an issue. Just f***ing shake the guy’s hand and say well done.

‘This day and age somebody is never better than us. It’s always, we are tired.

‘If you’re sick, you’re sick. That’s part of being a tennis player. Tiredness, the schedule – you can take time off. It’s not an excuse. You have lost. That is it. Pull your calf in the first match you lose. It’s sport, isn’t it?’

Evans is coming into Wimbledon fully fit this year – touch wood, he is playing here in Eastbourne this week – after a fall at Queen’s Club in 2024 left him hobbled for the Championships. 

He played Wimbledon despite a knee injury but lost in the first round to Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, and then went straight into preparations for partnering Andy Murray for his last bow at the Paris Olympics.

‘Last year was a rush, no doubt about that,’ said Evans in Eastbourne. ‘I took a little bit longer than expected to recover. I was just a bit behind in preparation – it sounds like I am making excuses after what I have just said!

‘In hindsight, playing the Olympics was probably not the best thing for my body but that is what I wanted to do and, I’ve said many times, that was the best thing I have ever done and it would be hard to top that.

‘It’s nice this year to be fully fit. I was thinking earlier that I would be first or second on that (potentially slippery) court that no-one has played on. Brings back a bit of anxiety about it but I am sure it will be alright.’