The 29-year-old was knocked out of the French Open qualifying tournament at Roland Garros on Wednesday following a frustrating three-set defeat.

After taking the opening set on the famous clay courts, Harris lost momentum and eventually went down 3–6, 6–0 and 6–3 to unseeded Italian Andreas Pellegrino.

Earlier in the week, Harris eased into the second round of qualifying with a convincing straight-sets win over France’s Hugo Grenier. The South African beat the local hopeful 6–3 and 6–3, although he still looked short of his best form.

Lloyd Harris. Photo: Tennis SA

Known for his powerful serve and aggressive style of play, Harris struggled to make his usual impact behind serve during the qualifying campaign. He managed just three aces against Grenier and only two in Wednesday’s defeat to Pellegrino.

The latest setback comes as Harris continues his comeback from yet another injury lay-off – something that has unfortunately become a recurring theme in his career over the past few seasons.

In 2025, Harris successfully qualified for the French Open, but his return to the main draw proved short-lived when he lost in four sets to Russia’s Andrey Rublev. The then 17th-seeded Rublev claimed a 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 and 6–1 victory over the South African.

Lloyd Harris at Wimbledon in 2024. Photo: Tennis.com

Harris also qualified for Wimbledon last year and reached the second round after opening his campaign with a hard-fought 7–6, 7–6, 6–7 and 6–2 win over Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.

Once again, however, Rublev proved to be his stumbling block. The Russian advanced with a hard-fought 6–7, 6–4, 7–6 and 6–3 victory.

At the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York City, Harris was sent packing in the second round after losing 6–4, 7–6, 2–6 and 4–6 to fourth seed Taylor Fritz.

Earlier this year, Harris also failed to progress beyond the opening round of qualifying for the Australian Open in Melbourne after losing 4–6, 7–6, and 3–6 to Federico Cinà of Italy.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek sm