Wimbledon: Lorenzo Musetti withdraws, handing Matteo Berrettini a free pass

Lorenzo Musetti will not be competing at Wimbledon either. The Italian tennis player officially announced his withdrawal in a post on Instagram, confirming that his return to the court will be postponed until the summer hard-court season in North America. Musetti’s last appearance was at the Italian Open, where he was defeated in the round of 16 by Casper Ruud with a score of 6-3, 6-1. A muscle injury to the rectus femoris in his left thigh is preventing him from returning to competition.

For Musetti, a complicated 2026 is dragging on even further. The Carrara native, who has been sidelined since May 12, had already withdrawn from the ATP 500 at Queen’s, the historic London tournament that many consider a crucial stepping stone to Wimbledon. His withdrawal from the British Grand Slam also costs him valuable ranking points: the Tuscan has slipped to No. 16 in the ATP rankings, far from the top ten he had managed to break into the previous season. The 2026 season had begun with encouraging signs—reaching the final in Hong Kong and making significant progress at the Australian Open—but since his withdrawal in the quarterfinals in Melbourne against Novak Djokovic, when he was leading by two sets, he has been unable to find consistency.

Here is the message in which the Tuscan tennis player announced his decision not to participate in the London Grand Slam, a tournament in which he had reached the semifinals in 2024: “I’d like to update you on my recovery from the injury I sustained in Rome: rehabilitation is going very well, and the medical results are encouraging. Unfortunately, since I haven’t yet begun a full athletic training regimen, and after careful consideration, we’ve come to the difficult conclusion that I won’t be able to compete at Wimbledon this year. It’s not an easy decision, but it’s the right one. My priority is to return to the court at 100%. Thank you for your constant support—see you soon.”

While Musetti must postpone his return to competition once again, there is good news for Matteo Berrettini. Thanks to his compatriot’s withdrawal, the Roman has secured direct entry into the Wimbledon main draw without having to go through qualifying, although he would certainly have preferred to achieve this under different circumstances.

Berrettini’s situation remained up in the air until the very last moment. The Roman was two spots outside the direct entry into the main draw—he was four spots away before the withdrawals of Carlos Alcaraz and Valentin Vacherot—and faced a real risk of having to go through qualifying, a scenario far from ideal for a player seeking consistency after a period marked by various physical problems. To avert this outcome, the Italian Tennis Federation took matters into its own hands: President Angelo Binaghi had personally written to the leadership of the All England Club to advocate for the Roman’s wild card, citing his 2021 final appearance—one of the brightest moments in Italian tennis in the pre-Sinner era.

In the end, Musetti’s withdrawal rendered that request unnecessary, resolving the matter indirectly. Binaghi, however, had expressed confidence in the Roman’s participation at Wimbledon in recent days: “I sent a letter to the director of Wimbledon, and we are confident that Matteo will gain direct entry into the main draw. His results and his prowess on grass deserve this opportunity.”