Arnaldi Advances to French Open Semi-Finals After Berrettini Retires With Hip Injury

Matteo Berrettini retired from his 2026 French Open quarter-final against fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi after a hip injury. The 30-year-old had lost the first set and trailed 5-2 in the second set when the problem ended the match at Roland Garros. Berrettini had taken a medical timeout early in the second set.

He pulled up sharply while chasing a ball in the final game before sitting in his chair for several seconds and then embracing Arnaldi at the net. "It was really hard [to retire] because I thought that wasn't the right thing, mostly because I have done it many times and I'm tired of retiring," Berrettini said.

The former world number six reached a seventh Grand Slam quarter-final in his first appearance at Roland Garros since 2021.

He had missed the previous four French Opens because of injury problems and is now ranked 105th. Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2021 Wimbledon final. His only previous retirement from a Grand Slam match came at the 2023 US Open.

He also exited the 2021 ATP Tour Finals early with an abdominal injury and pulled out midway through matches in Madrid and Rome last season. "I have to take the good stuff that I did in this tournament, because a few weeks ago or a few days ago, it would have been crazy to think about me in the quarter-finals, and so I'll try to go back home with a smile on my face," Berrettini said.

Arnaldi, ranked 104th, said after the match: "You never wish for someone to end the tournament like this.

Arnaldi is the lowest-ranked male player to reach a French Open singles semi-final since Filip Dewulf in 1997 when ranked 122nd. The 25-year-old will play 10th seed Flavio Cobolli on Friday for a place in Sunday's final. Arnaldi had spent the most amount of time on court by a player en route to reaching a Grand Slam men's quarter-final since such a metric started being recorded in 1991.

He spent close to 20 hours on court across his five matches up to and including the quarter-final. "Today I was feeling actually pretty good," Arnaldi said. Italy’s Matteo Berrettini withdrew from his French Open quarter-final due to a hip injury, sending Matteo Arnaldi through to the semi-finals, where he will face compatriot Flavio Cobolli, who defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime.