Matteo Berrettini Retires Injured as Matteo Arnaldi Reaches Historic Roland-Garros 2026 Semifinal
Italian tennis star Matteo Arnaldi booked his place in the semifinals of Roland-Garros 2026 after compatriot Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire with a hip injury during their quarterfinal clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday.
Arnaldi, ranked World No.104, was leading 7-5, 5-2 when Berrettini made the difficult decision to end the match after battling through pain for nearly two hours. The victory makes Arnaldi just the second player in the Open Era to win a Roland-Garros quarterfinal by retirement.
The match began with Berrettini showing glimpses of his best tennis, racing to a 3-0 lead after securing two early breaks. However, Arnaldi gradually found his rhythm and mounted an impressive comeback, winning seven of the next nine games to claim a hard-fought opening set that lasted 76 minutes.
Berrettini later revealed that he first felt discomfort in his hip while serving during the opening set but attempted to play through the pain.
"The more I was playing, the more I was serving, the more I was hitting forehands, the worse I was feeling," Berrettini said after the match.
The former Wimbledon finalist took a medical timeout early in the second set and bravely continued, but his movement and power visibly declined as the match progressed. Eventually, with his body unable to cope, the Italian made the painful decision to retire.
"I'm so tired of it. I just don't want to do it, but sometimes you have to do it," Berrettini admitted, reflecting on another injury setback in a career repeatedly interrupted by physical problems.
For Arnaldi, the result marks the biggest achievement of his career. The 25-year-old becomes the lowest-ranked men's semifinalist at Roland-Garros since Filip Dewulf reached the last four in 1997 while ranked No.122. He is also only the third player ranked outside the Top 100 to reach the Paris semifinals since 1990.
Despite spending nearly 20 hours on court throughout the tournament, Arnaldi insists he still has plenty left in the tank as he prepares for an all-Italian semifinal against World No.10 Flavio Cobolli.
"It's crazy to think I'm in the semifinals," Arnaldi said. "I have been playing a lot, but at the same time I'm happy to be on court. I for sure have some energy left for the next matches."
With Italy guaranteed a finalist at Roland-Garros 2026, Arnaldi's remarkable underdog run continues to capture the imagination of tennis fans around the world.
