Injuries are, unfortunately, part and parcel of being an athlete. In the tennis world, where the season is 11 months long, players are often competing through niggles, aches and pains. But one star took that a little far this year, playing with a broken bone for weeks on end. Ugo Humbert spent most of the clay season competing with a splint and bandage after breaking a finger.

At the time, the Frenchman was keen to play on, even going against doctors’ advice to take a short break. But Humbert learned the hard way that it probably wasn’t the best idea, and the 27-year-old shared his regrets over the “stupid” injury with Express Sport as he reflected on his year.

“Yeah, my season was not easy. I mean, physically and mentally had some stupid injuries during the season, so I felt not 100 per cent on the court. So it’s not a great feeling when you are a player,” Humbert – who started the year ranked up at No. 14 in the world but fell outside the top 20 shortly after breaking his finger – said.

The “stupid” injury came at the UTS event in Nimes in April, days before the Monte-Carlo Masters – the first official tournament of the clay swing. “If I explain [how I did it], I will be really stupid!” the seven-time title winner laughed.

“But I was in the bathroom and it was water on the floor and I slipped and my finger took something, the angle of something and I heard like a big crack and I know I knew it was something bad.”

Humbert plays left-handed but has a two-handed backhand, and his right finger was bandaged up for weeks. When he finally recovered in time for his home Grand Slam tournament, the French Open he picked up a fresh injury.

The current world No. 37 added: “It was, at the end, a stupid thing with my little finger broken. During those two months, it was difficult. I couldn’t do any backhand. So I had to adapt a little bit. When I see my season, maybe I had to stop at this time because it was impossible to win one match like that.

“But I wanted to try. So it was like that, but after that, it was better and in Roland Garros I did my ankle on the court. So it was too much, too much. I think it was not a great decision for my part.”

Humbert had ended 2024 on a high when he reached his maiden Masters 1000 final on home soil in Paris. The French ace thrives on indoor hard courts, but just when he started to find some form again at the end of the season, Humbert got injured again and missed the Paris Masters, the final edition of the ATP 250 in Metz, and the Davis Cup. And his ranking took another hit.

The setback did, however, allow Humbert to start his off-season a little earlier. And with coach Jeremy Chardy back in his corner, the world No. 37 wants to put this turbulent year behind him and focus on next season.

“My coach, Jeremy Chardy, came back in the team and I’m happy to have him back. We worked really well during the end of the season and I felt much better during the indoor season, but unfortunately, I had an injury in Basel again and I missed the three last tournaments of the season,” Humbert said.

“Especially in France, it’s not easy to not be there because in Paris, I made the final last year, I couldn’t be there. Metz was the last tournament in my hometown. And I missed Davis Cup as well. But it’s okay. I just want to forget this season and think about 2026.

“I had two months to prepare for the next season. I think in my career, I will not have this time again! So I’ve just enjoyed this time to have two or three weeks of rest. To have a big pre-season before Australia is something I will take.”