Matteo Berrettini reached the Wimbledon final in 2021, the first Italian man to do so, and climbed to a career-high ranking of world No. 6 the following January. What followed was one of the more punishing injury sequences in recent men’s tennis — abdominal, foot, ankle, oblique and hip problems that cost him entire seasons and repeatedly interrupted comebacks just as they began to work.
His record now reads as a study in what a body will and will not sustain. The tennis, when he has been fit, has never been the question.
Background and Early Career
Berrettini was born on 12 April 1996 in Rome and is based in Monte Carlo. He stands 1.96m and plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand. He came to tennis by an indirect route — as a child he swam, played football and practised judo, and it was his younger brother Jacopo, now also a professional, who drew him back to the court at around eight.
The more consequential decision came later. Vincenzo Santopadre took him on in 2011 and stayed twelve years, until October 2023, and the defining feature of that partnership was restraint. While his contemporaries travelled the junior circuit full time, Santopadre held Berrettini back, steering him toward school, family and friends when he wanted to compete. The stated aim, according to a New York Times account of the arrangement, was to produce “a grounded adult with a sustainable career.”
The effect was a start that looks slow by modern standards. He turned professional in 2015 at 18 and earned his first ranking points that season, but did not play an ATP main draw until 2017, at 21 — an age by which several of his eventual rivals had already won tour titles. His first Grand Slam main draw came at the 2018 Australian Open.
Once he was competing regularly the progress was rapid. He beat Viktor Troicki at Doha in January 2018 for his first tour-level win, entered the top 100 in May, and in July won his maiden ATP title at the Swiss Open in Gstaad, beating Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(11-9), 6-4 without dropping a set all week.
2019 was the breakout. A second title in Budapest took him into the top 50, a third followed on grass in Stuttgart, and he reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for his first appearance in the second week of a major. At the US Open he beat Gael Monfils in five sets to become the first Italian man in the semifinals there since Corrado Barazzutti in 1977 — by then his own Davis Cup captain. Semifinals in Shanghai and Vienna closed the year and took him to the ATP Finals as world No. 8, where he beat Dominic Thiem.
The 2021 Peak
The 2021 season was his best. He reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, won the title at Queen’s Club, and then reached the final at Wimbledon, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.
He defended the Queen’s Club title in 2022, beating Filip Krajinovic in the final — his fourth title on grass. He also reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2022, and on 31 January that year rose to world No. 6, his career-high ranking.
Playing Style
Berrettini is built around two shots: a serve that ranks among the most productive on tour, and a forehand heavy enough to end rallies from any position on the court. The backhand is the acknowledged weakness, used more to hold ground than to attack.
That construction explains his surface record. On grass and quick hard courts, where the serve is rewarded and rallies stay short, he has been a genuine threat at the majors. On slower surfaces he has to work considerably harder for the same result, and the physical cost of doing so is part of the injury story rather than separate from it.
The Injury Record
The list is long. An abdominal injury sustained at Monte-Carlo in 2023 cost him Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. An ankle problem forced a second-round retirement at the 2023 US Open. A torn oblique muscle cost him further weeks. He withdrew from the 2024 Australian Open on the eve of his first-round match with a right foot injury.
By early 2024 he had missed four of the previous eight Grand Slams. He would go on to miss four consecutive editions of Roland Garros before returning to Paris.
The 2024 Comeback
The rebuild worked. He won the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech in April 2024, then reached the Stuttgart final, losing to Jack Draper. At Gstaad he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach a third final of the season.
Ranked No. 82 at Wimbledon that year, he lost a four-set match on Centre Court to Jannik Sinner, then the world No. 1.
Roland Garros 2026 and the Hip
His return to Roland Garros in 2026, his first appearance there since 2021, produced the best tennis of his comeback. He reached the quarterfinals without serious difficulty, his deepest Grand Slam run in four years. Against compatriot Matteo Arnaldi he began feeling pain in his left hip while serving in the first set. He took a medical timeout in the second and retired trailing 7-5, 5-2. He was in tears in his chair before standing to embrace his opponent.
He returned for the grass season and lost in the third round at Wimbledon. In July 2026 he was diagnosed with chronic hip pain and withdrew from Gstaad and Kitzbuhel, targeting the North American hard-court swing instead. “The best course of action is to withdraw and rest,” he said in a statement.
The word chronic matters. It reframes the problem from an injury to be recovered from into a condition to be managed, which is a different proposition for a player whose game depends on serving heavily off that side.
Davis Cup
Berrettini has been central to Italy’s Davis Cup success, winning the competition in 2024 and 2025 and compiling a 12-2 record in the event. For a player whose individual season has often been fragmented by injury, the team competition has provided some of his most reliable form.
Season Snapshot — as of 29 July 2026
The figures in this section change during the season. Everything above holds regardless of date.
- ATP singles ranking: No. 51
- Career-high ranking: No. 6 (January 2022)
- 2026 win-loss: 15-11 (hard 3-2, clay 10-8, grass 2-1)
- 2026 titles: none
- Best 2026 result: Roland Garros quarterfinal (retired)
- Career ATP titles: 10 singles, 2 doubles
- Career prize money: approximately $14 million
- Status: withdrew from Gstaad and Kitzbuhel with chronic hip pain; targeting the North American hard-court swing and the US Open
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Matteo Berrettini’s highest ranking?
World No. 6, reached in January 2022.
Has Matteo Berrettini won a Grand Slam?
No. His best result is the 2021 Wimbledon final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic. He also reached the US Open semifinals in 2019 and the Australian Open semifinals in 2022.
How many titles has Matteo Berrettini won?
Ten ATP Tour singles titles and two doubles titles, including back-to-back Queen’s Club titles in 2021 and 2022.
What injuries has Matteo Berrettini had?
An extensive list including abdominal, right foot, ankle and oblique injuries across 2023 and 2024, and chronic left hip pain diagnosed in 2026. The hip forced his retirement from the Roland Garros quarterfinal that year.
Has Matteo Berrettini won the Davis Cup?
Yes, twice with Italy, in 2024 and 2025.
What is Matteo Berrettini’s best surface?
Grass. He reached the Wimbledon final in 2021 and won Queen’s Club twice, with his serve and forehand suited to the shorter rallies the surface produces. He can also use a protected ranking to re-enter events after extended layoffs.
