Matteo Berrettini left devastated after shocking injury during US Open match, leaves court in a wheelchair
Berrettini has already missed a significant portion of the calendar year owing to his struggle with an abdominal strain
2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini on Friday incurred a shocking injury during his match against France’s Arthur Rinderknech on Court 5 in the second round of 2023 US Open. Berrettini later retired from the match following the heartbreaking scene as footage of the Italian star in a wheelchair emerged later on social media.
It happened when the unseeded player was trailing 4-6, 3-5 against the Frenchman. As he looked to go for a backhand return during a rally, he rolled his ankle and immediately collapsed on the court. He was screaming in sheer agony, clinching his ankle as the ball kids raced to his aid while the chair umpire immediately called for medical attention.
The medical staff however took close to five minutes to reach the court, leaving fans furious, and attend to Berrettini as he managed to get up on his feet, shake hands with his opponent and then was take off the court in a wheelchair. Berrettini looked devasted in the footages that emerged thereafter on social media having suffered another major injury in this season.
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He has already missed a significant portion of the calendar year owing to his struggle with an abdominal strain. The injury had seen him miss the opportunity to defend his back-to-back titles at the Queen's Club Championships as he skipped the entire clay court season and returned only in Wimbledon where he suffered a fourth-round exit at the hands of eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
With the injury in New York, this is the second time the Italian has failed to go past the second round after making back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 2021 and 22 and a semifinal appearance on 2019. His only opening-round shock was in 2018, the year of his maiden main-draw appearance at the Flushing Meadows.
Rinderknech, who is into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, will face eighth seed Andrey Rublev next. The Russian beat Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the third round at the Flushing Meadows for the fifth consecutive year. A three-time quarter-finalist in New York showed resilience in the longer rallies as he and Monfils traded blows for two hours, 19 minutes.
