Goffin to face qualifier in farewell as Fils tops depleted Brussels draw

Goffin's last stand begins against a qualifier

David Goffin made the draw for the final tournament of his career on Friday. Now the Belgian knows the opening step of his farewell. The 35-year-old wildcard will play a qualifier in the first round of the European Open in Brussels, with the match scheduled for Wednesday evening, according to Belgian broadcaster RTBF. If he wins, the former world No. 7 will face either another qualifier or the fifth seed, Alex Michelsen.

Goffin, from Liège, conducted the ceremony himself at Brussels Expo. Asked about his possible opponent, he said that for the sake of the tournament he hoped it would not be a fellow Belgian, while adding that an all-Belgian match would still be enjoyable given the respect between the country's players. That is a live possibility: four Belgians are in qualifying, namely Gauthier Onclin, Kimmer Coppejans, Buvaysar Gadamauri and wildcard Gilles-Arnaud Bailly.

Goffin is now ranked 467th, a long way from his November 2017 peak of world No. 7. He ends a 17-year professional career with six ATP titles, nine more finals and wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. He had already said goodbye at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year. Brussels, where the organisers have planned a farewell ceremony, will be his last event.

Auger-Aliassime and Ruud pull out, Fils takes top seeding

The draw went ahead without two of the event's headliners. Defending champion Félix Auger-Aliassime, who had been expected to be top seed, withdrew injured after retiring with a knee problem in Shanghai earlier this week. Casper Ruud also pulled out shortly before Friday's draw. Belgian outlet Sport in Antwerpen called it a recurring headache for the tournament, which keeps losing its biggest names late.

That leaves Arthur Fils as the No. 1 seed. The Frenchman still needs ranking points in the race for Turin. Like the other top four seeds he has a first-round bye, and he will open against either Jaume Munar or a qualifier. Jiří Lehečka is seeded second and Francisco Cerúndolo third.

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Rune's comeback meets Collignon

The standout first-round match pits home player Raphaël Collignon against Holger Rune. The Dane, a former world No. 4, received the last wildcard as he returns from the Achilles tendon rupture he suffered in October 2025. Collignon has fitness questions of his own: Belgian media report he has been out with a knee injury since 31 August. The winner gets Lehečka in the second round.

Belgium's other two hopes are in the same section of the draw. Alexander Blockx, the country's top-ranked man and the fourth seed, has a bye and will meet either Jan-Lennard Struff or Marcos Giron. Zizou Bergs, seeded sixth after beating Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai, opens against Britain's Toby Samuel.

Qualifying is on Saturday and Sunday, and the main draw starts on Monday at Palais 12. From the quarter-finals, play moves to a temporary centre court in Palais 5. According to Brussels outlet Bruzz, this edition is for now the second-to-last in its current form, after organiser Tennium sold the licence to the Italian tennis federation earlier this year.