Injuries have affected Matteo Berrettini’s career and prevented him from achieving even more prestigious results. The former world number 6 experienced the best moment of his career in 2021, when he reached the final at the Wimbledon Championships losing only to Novak Djokovic.
That year, the Italian ace was defeated by the Serbian legend in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments played (at the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open). Matteo also participated in the 2021 edition of the Nitto ATP Finals, the first to be held in Turin, but was forced to retire during his first match against German Sascha Zverev due to an abdominal injury.
Berrettini also started the 2022 season very well, qualifying for the semifinals of the Australian Open after an amazing run in which he had also defeated a very young Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian champion put Rafael Nadal in trouble, but was defeated in four sets on the iconic Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner and Berrettini© @Eurosport_IT X account
From that moment, injuries became increasingly influential and his career went into a downward spiral over the next year and a half. The player from Rome had to miss many tournaments and suffered a serious ankle injury during the 2023 US Open, not being able to help Italy at the Davis Cup Finals.
2024 was the year of rebirth for Matteo, who returned to play with good regularity and also won three titles. Everyone’s hope is that injuries will stop haunting Berrettini, allowing him to return to the Top 10 next year. Late last month, Matteo was instrumental in Italy’s second consecutive triumph at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. His next goal will be the 2025 Australian Open, in which he will also have to hope for a draw that is not too hard to get to the second week.
Berrettini loves Roger Federer
Berrettini has never hidden that the last two years have been particularly difficult for him and that he has also thought about leaving tennis. Matteo has found the right motivations and is ready to start the second part of his career, in which he will also try to win a Grand Slam title. His greatest chances are certainly at the Wimbledon Championships, where his excellent serve can make the difference as he showed in 2021.
Meanwhile, the former world number 6 has hired Umberto Ferrara as his new fitness coach, while the name of his new coach is not yet known after the separation from Francisco Roig.
The Italian champion participated in the latest edition of ‘Love Letter To Tennis’ on the ATP’s YouTube channel, in which he retraced the highlights of his career: “First thing that they did was give me a tennis racket when I was three and I remember that I didn’t like tennis so I stopped playing.
I started playing at eight again because my brother that is younger told me to come back because it would have been fun.”
The Italian ace loves Roger Federer: “My brother would choose always Novak Djokovic, and I would always choose Roger Federer.
Roger Federer© Instagram Roger Federer- Fair Use
We would play for hours in the house, with balloons, with small rackets, big rackets, it didn’t matter, we were just having fun.
I won quite a few titles, reached the finals in a Grand Slam, played the finals in London and in Turin.
You (tennis) taught me to be resilient, to keep fighting, to trust the people that you’re working with.”
Matteo is very dangerous
If he is in top shape, Berrettini has weapons very suitable for modern tennis and can put even top players in serious difficulty. Matteo also demonstrated this assumption in the 2024 edition of Wimbledon, in which he forced his compatriot Jannik Sinner to play his best tennis in their second-round match.
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist could have achieved better results in Masters 1000 tournaments, where he never progressed beyond the second round in 2024. His goal is to grow further next season, after gaining a lot of confidence thanks to the experience at the Davis Cup Finals.
Matteo Berrettini© Instagram Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini was the ‘forerunner’ of the rise of Italian tennis, having taken the baton from Fabio Fognini and having achieved very prestigious results in the Major tournaments. Matteo was then joined by players such as Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Lorenzo Sonego, Matteo Arnaldi and Flavio Cobolli, who helped make Italy the world’s leading power in the sport.
The former world number 6 was the first to increase the popularity of tennis in his country, which is why he deserves to receive more credit from fans and insiders. The first months of 2025 will be crucial to understand Berrettini’s real status and his future prospects.
Tennis World USA