Matteo Berrettini arrived at the French Open riding a wave of momentum, storming into his first Grand Slam quarter-final since the US Open in 2022. When he raced to an early double-break lead against Matteo Arnaldi at Court Philippe-Chatrier, an even bigger breakthrough seemed within reach. But tennis can be cruel sometimes, and a devastating injury suddenly crushed his hopes of reaching a dream semi-final in Parisian clay.

“I’m the last one that wants to retire. I’m tired of retiring. I just don’t want to do it, but sometimes you have to do it,” Berrettini said at his post-match press conference.

The former SW19 finalist explained that stepping off the court was not something he wanted. “A lot of players have done it in the past, and it’s the worst feeling ever, but it’s the right thing to do, because it’s not the last tournament I’m going to play in my life, and I have to think about my future. I have to think about my recovery.”

Berrettini revealed that he suffered a hip injury during the match against Arnaldi. At the time, he was unsure about the exact nature of the problem and said he had never experienced something similar before.

“In the middle of the first set, I started to feel something when I was serving, but I was competing. The match was very tough, and I just didn’t really think much of it. I just kept going and I tried to do my best,” Berrettini added.

The 30-year-old continued fighting despite the discomfort. As the match went on, however, the pain gradually became harder to manage. “It was a really tough task today, but then the more that I was playing, the more I was serving, the more I was hitting forehands, the worse I was feeling.”

The world No. 6 eventually took a medical timeout during the second set. Despite receiving treatment, the issue did not improve enough for him to continue properly.

By the fifth game of the 2nd set, the concern among his team had become obvious. Members of his camp were even urging him from the stands to stop playing as the pain appeared to be getting worse.

“They told me that the area was really sore and really painful. So I just tried, but then the pain was too much, and I hope that I didn’t do any serious damage,” Berrettini said.

“I just have to wait and see in the next days for the scans and everything to see what it is. Hopefully it’s nothing too bad. I’m obviously disappointed, but I think if I kept playing, I would have done way worse and probably the recovery time would have been longer.” 

Later he sadly added, “Unfortunately, I didn’t have any other choices than retire.”

While Berrettini left the court disappointed and searching for answers, Matteo Arnaldi, on the other hand, moved into the first Grand Slam SF of his career. The Italian advanced to the French Open last four after Berrettini retired with Arnaldi leading 7-5, 5-2.  

And the fellow Italian later shared his condolences and sympathy for Berrettini following the unfortunate ending to their QF clash.

Matteo Arnaldi reacts with sympathy after Berrettini’s unfortunate retirement

For Matteo Berrettini, injury-related retirements have unfortunately become a recurring part of his career till now. His latest withdrawal at the French Open added another painful chapter to a long list of physical setbacks.

Just last year, during the 3rd round of the Italian Open, Berrettini was forced to retire while trailing Casper Ruud 7-5, 2-0. An abdominal injury ended his run in the Italian capital and created bigger problems in the months ahead.

The injury proved serious enough to force him out of two back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments. Berrettini later withdrew from both the 2025 French Open and the US Open as he focused on recovery.

His struggles with injuries did not begin there. At the US Open in 2023, the Italian suffered another heartbreaking setback during his second-round match against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.

That time, Berrettini sustained a severe right ankle injury. The damage was significant enough that the Italian could not continue the match and had to retire from the tournament.

Earlier in the same season, he was also dealing with a stomach muscle tear. The issue forced him to withdraw from his home tournament while continuing his rehabilitation process.

Before that, Berrettini had injured an oblique muscle during the Monte Carlo Masters. The injury forced him to pull out before his scheduled R16 clash against Holger Rune.

The physical problem did not stop there. It also led to his withdrawal from the Madrid Open that year, further disrupting what had already become a difficult season.

Going back even further, another major setback arrived in 2021. Berrettini was forced to withdraw from the Nitto ATP Finals in his home country due to a severe abdominal injury.

The moment was particularly emotional because it happened in front of his home fans. He retired in tears during his opening round-robin match against the German Alexander Zverev.

Now, his latest retirement has cost him what looked like a genuine opportunity to reach the French Open SF. And following the match, fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi expressed sympathy for his countryman. “It’s a tough one,” Arnaldi said in his on-court interview. 

“We both played a lot, so it’s normal to not be at our best, but you never wish someone to end their tournament like this. He did an amazing tournament. We are all doing such a good job in Italy. I’m sorry for him and I hope he’s going to recover, because soon is going to be the grass and he is going to be very tough to play.”

Despite the unfortunate ending, there were still positives for the 30-year-old to take away from Paris. He began the tournament ranked World No. 105 and has climbed to No. 48 in the current ATP Live Rankings. 

And as the grass-court season quickly approaches and Wimbledon qualifying rounds draws closer, Berrettini will be hoping his body recovers in time so he can test both his form and endurance on the surface where he has often produced some of his very best tennis in his career.