After recently coming back from an 11-month layoff due to an Achilles injury, Holger Rune will be on the sidelines again. The Dane made his return in September with the Davis Cup and then played the Asian swing. Though Rune failed to rack up any wins in both the Japan Open and the Shanghai Masters, he was still expected to feature in most of the tournaments remaining on the calendar. But an unexpected back injury has now resulted in his withdrawal from the BNP Paribas Fortis European Cup.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play in Brussels as planned,” he wrote on X. “My back has seized up, but fortunately, scans have confirmed that it’s nothing serious. So 2-3 days rest. Just really annoying and unfortunate timing.”

With the injury not appearing to be serious, Rune is expected to be back in action as soon as possible. He might play either the Vienna Open or the Swiss Indoors in Basel, both of which will begin on October 26. Rune would also want to play the Paris Masters later in November, as it will be the final 1000 event of the season.

The 23-year-old made a strong return at the Davis Cup as Denmark took on Bulgaria. He first defeated Iliyan Radulov 6-3, 6-3 before recording a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 victory over Grigor Dimitrov. He played a key role in Denmark’s narrow 3-2 triumph.

Rune was expected to be brimming with confidence after these two results. He made his much-awaited return to the ATP Tour a few days later with the Japan Open. He met Kyrian Jacquet in the first round, but suffered a 6-3, 6-1 defeat. A similar story continued at the Shanghai Masters, where Daniel Altmaier beat Rune 1-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the first round.

The Dane is yet to record his first victory of the year on the Tour and has fallen to No. 195 in the rankings. Things have been incredibly tough for him ever since he suffered the Achilles injury at the Stockholm Open last year. It is not easy for any player to get back into rhythm right away after being sidelined for almost a year. But Rune will be hoping to get at least a few positive results before the season ends.

Rune would have been one of the headline players if he had played in Brussels. He is one of the multiple prominent players who have withdrawn from the tournament. As a result, the ATP 250 event has suffered a major blow even before its commencement.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud have also withdrawn from Brussels

World No. 5 Felix Auger-Aliassime has also pulled out of the BNP Paribas Fortis European Cup. He recently picked up a knee injury during his clash against Casper Ruud in the Round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters. This resulted in him not just withdrawing from the event in Brussels, but also from the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

“After injuring my knee during my match in Shanghai earlier this week, my team and I have decided that I’ll take the next two weeks off from competition,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Unfortunately, this means withdrawing from Brussels and Basel, two tournaments I’ve won and really enjoyed playing in the past. Now the focus shifts to recovery and working hard to get back to competing as soon as possible. Thank you all for your continued support.”

Like Auger-Aliassime, Ruud will also not be playing in Brussels. He suffered a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat to Rafael Jodar in the quarterfinals in Shanghai. The Norwegian was clearly not at his physical best during the match, but the reason behind his withdrawal from Brussels is unclear.

With Auger-Aliassime and Ruud out of contention, Arthur Fils has emerged as the clear favorite to clinch the title in Brussels. He is now the top seed of the tournament and will have a chance of clinching his third title of the season.

Not to mention that an additional 250 points will almost secure Fils’ place in the ATP Finals. Jiri Lehecka and Francisco Cerundolo appear to be the two players who can challenge the Frenchman for the title.