French Open competitor forced to withdraw after hurting foot in embarrassing way

Arthur Rinderknech was forced to retire from his second-round match at the French Open on Thursday night against Tomás Martin Etcheverry after kicking an advertisement board out of frustration.

The Frenchman suffered a left foot injury from the kick and withdrew despite holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five sets. 

When he went down with the injury, Rinderknech was down 2-0 in the fourth set.

The 69th-ranked player in the world initially tried to play through the ailment but required medical attention two games later.

Etcheverry was credited with a 3-6, 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 5-0 victory as a walkover.

The 28-year-old Rinderknech told French newspaper L'Equipe that he felt "very good physically" but "just messed up."

"I kicked into the wall, a little annoyed, at 2-0 when I got broken in the fourth set. I don't really know at the moment, but I hope I didn't break my toe. Afterwards, I could no longer put my foot on the ground," he said, according to the L'Equipe report.

According to the report, Rinderknech didn't break his toe but has cartilage damage.