When Matteo Arnaldi walked into the media room for his last press conference in Paris, heartbreak filled the air for the Italian. His withdrawal from the French Open opened the door for fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli to reach the final, making the moment even more painful. Now, after almost two weeks, the untold story behind that disappointing Roland Garros exit has revealed an even harsher reality.

“We don’t actually know for sure,” Arnaldi said while playing qualifiers at the Eastbourne Open. “I never did analysis or anything, but we think it was a virus or something, because on the day of the match, I wasn’t feeling okay, and then the day after as well, I wasn’t at my best, and then I flew back home. [I didn’t eat for] 2 full days, and breakfast in the morning. So it was pretty bad. I don’t know why.”

Unfortunately, back at the French Open, the story was sad, even from a non-Arnaldi fan perspective. After having dinner the evening before the SF, his condition suddenly became much worse. 

He started vomiting, couldn’t sleep properly, developed a fever, and every time he tried to eat or drink, he had to rush back to the washroom. Even a doctor from the clay court tournament was called to his hotel room to treat him. However, the medication only helped for a short period.

As the SF approached, the Italian was barely able to stand. Even then, he waited until the very last moment before the match against Flavio Cobolli, hoping his body would somehow recover in time. Sadly, his body never responded the way he hoped.

Now, when asked whether it was food poisoning or an illness, the 25-year-old pointed to the fever and chills while comparing to what happened at the Acapulco Open 2025, where several top ATP players became ill.  “It was something similar. Every time I would drink or I would try to eat, I would go vomit again. It wasn’t the best, but what can you do?”

Although he has now moved past that horrible Paris experience, the grass-court season has also not gone the way he wanted. 

Matteo Arnaldi voices frustration over playing ATP 250 qualifiers after French Open heroics

Just last month, the former world No. 30 found himself outside the world’s top 100. He had already accepted that a return to the Challenger Tour was probably unavoidable.

However, everything changed after his outstanding run at Roland Garros. Although the Parisian Slam ended in heartbreak, the on-court performance until the semis also earned admiration.

Now, the Italian is closing in on his once career-high ranking of world No. 30. Still, the transition was far from easy. Going from a Grand Slam SF to qualifying for an ATP 250 event in Eastbourne was not something he had expected. “It definitely wasn’t easy to go from the semi-final of Roland Garros to play qualies here. I had to use some mental strength,” the Italian said before facing Giles Hussey today.

He returned to action at the ATP 250 tournament on June 20th, while he still had to play qualifying matches. That unusual situation happened because the tournament’s entry deadline came while he was still outside the top 100. 

Despite the setback in Paris, the Italian has quickly shifted his focus towards the ATP Finals. At the moment, he sits at world No. 24 in the ATP Live rankings, which only counts points earned during this season. The top eight players qualify for the prestigious year-end event in Turin.

And with SW19 just around the corner, Arnaldi now has another big opportunity waiting. Do you think he can produce another deep Grand Slam run and move one step closer to qualifying for the ATP Finals? Share your thoughts below!