Lakshya Sen crashes out of French Open after humbling loss in 1st round

Lakshya Sen was eliminated in the first round of the French Open Super 750 men's singles in Paris by Ireland's Nhat Nguyen on Tuesday, October 21. Sen, who had recently been in good form with a finals appearance at the Hong Kong Open and a win over Nguyen last week at the Denmark Open, could not replicate his previous success. The match ended 7–21, 16–21 in favor of Nguyen, with Sen’s errors proving costly throughout.

The Indian ace began the match on the back foot, struggling to land his deep tosses and misfiring on attacking shots. Falling behind 2–7 early in the first game, he was unable to recover, trailing 5–11 at the interval. Nhat Nguyen increased the pressure, maintaining a high pace and capitalising on Sen’s mistakes, closing out the opener 21–7 with a crisp cross-court winner.

In the second game, Sen again failed to find rhythm, trailing 1–6 and later 5–11 at the mid-game interval. Although he mounted a brief comeback to 11–15, unforced errors continued to disrupt his progress. Nguyen displayed superior



control and variety, ultimately closing out the match after Sen staved off two match points.

The Irish ace's superior control and fewer errors were decisive, as he took advantage of Sen’s erratic play. Nguyen's deceptive cross-court shots and consistent rallying allowed him to dictate the flow. Sen’s form, in contrast to his recent performance in Denmark, highlighted inconsistency in shot selection and execution under pressure.

The defeat marks a setback after his runner-up finish in the Hong Kong Open and raises questions about his consistency at major events. Throughout the match, Sen appeared off-colour and was unable to find a way past Nguyen’s tight defence and sharp shot-making. His frequent wide and netted attempts contrasted with his usual precision. The errors handed Nguyen multiple opportunities to control the rallies and maintain scoreboard pressure.

This was Sen's 11th first round exit in 17 BWF events this year. This was also the first time that Nguyen defeated Sen in their four meetings so far.