Last year at Roland Garros, Lorenzo Musetti pushed defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to the edge, forcing one breathtaking extra rally after another beneath the closed roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier. But after two hours and 25 grueling minutes, agony struck as Musetti limped out of the semifinal with pain in his left leg, leaving Paris heartbroken. Now, that cruel ending has returned to haunt him, with the Italian set to miss this year’s Grand Slam battle entirely.
Lorenzo Musetti has officially withdrawn from both the upcoming Roland Garros and the Hamburg Open after suffering a serious thigh injury during the Rome Masters. The 24-year-old World No. 10 struggled physically during his Round of 16 clash against Casper Ruud at Foro Italico on Tuesday.
From early in the match, Musetti looked uncomfortable and was clearly battling through pain. His movement became more restricted as the contest progressed.
Despite the physical problems, Musetti chose to continue competing in front of his home crowd in Rome. He even required a medical timeout during the match, but returned to the court afterward. However, the Italian eventually fell 6-3, 6-1 to Ruud in difficult circumstances.
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Following the defeat, Musetti underwent medical examinations to determine the seriousness of the injury. The scans revealed significant damage, forcing him to immediately cancel his plans for both Hamburg and Paris. The diagnosis delivered devastating news just days before the French Open.
Musetti also shared the heartbreaking update with fans through Instagram. The Italian confirmed that he had suffered a rectus femoris, or quadriceps, tear that would require a lengthy recovery period.
“After yesterday’s match, I underwent medical examinations which revealed a rectus femoris injury, requiring several weeks of rest and recovery,” Musetti wrote. “Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to compete in Hamburg and Roland Garros; news that is incredibly hard to take.”
Musetti also explained why he decided to continue playing despite the visible pain during the match against Ruud.
“A huge thank you to the Rome crowd for your incredible support: that’s exactly why, despite not being 100%, I chose to step on court and give everything I had in my home tournament,” he added. “I’ll keep you updated.”
Even after the match, Ruud showed compassion toward his injured opponent. The Norwegian wrote “Feel better, Lore” on the television camera following his victory.
Ruud later admitted that he was fully aware Musetti was struggling physically during the encounter. He revealed that he had already noticed signs of discomfort in Musetti’s previous match.
“Lore [Musetti] was maybe not 100%. I was actually watching the match with [Francisco] Cerundolo and him the other day, towards the end, it got quite dramatic, Lore was limping a little bit,” Ruud added.
“It’s not easy when you go out, you see the tape there, that’s the brutality of tennis. You try to do anything you can against your opponent and take advantage. You’re not quite sure what state he is in; it’s easy to think too much about him and not about yourself.”
Musetti’s withdrawal will also carry major ranking consequences in the coming weeks. Since he cannot defend the points earned from reaching last year’s Italian Open semifinals, the Carrara-born player has already dropped to No. 11 in the rankings. The bigger setback, however, may still be coming.
The Italian has 720 ranking points to defend at this year’s French Open, and missing the tournament could push him down to around No. 15 in the world.
That would mark his lowest ranking since February 2025, when he sat at No. 17. Meanwhile, Stan Wawrinka, who had initially received a wild card, now moves directly into the 128-player field, while the FFT has not yet announced a replacement selection.
Sadly for Musetti, this is not the first major tournament withdrawal of his season. Injuries have repeatedly interrupted his momentum this year, and the latest setback now forces him into another painful period away from the sport.
Lorenzo Musetti retires injured during the Australian Open semifinal in 2026
This season began with huge promise for Lorenzo Musetti, who quickly looked ready to take another major step forward in his career. The Italian reached the final of the Hong Kong Open and then produced one of the strongest performances of his season at the Australian Open.
He even moved two sets ahead against Novak Djokovic in their quarter-final clash before everything suddenly unraveled. Unfortunately for Musetti, injury forced him to retire while Djokovic was still struggling badly in the match.
Instead of completing a statement victory, the Italian was left heartbroken as physical problems once again interrupted his momentum. Since that painful night in Melbourne, Musetti has recorded a modest 13-7 win-loss record this season.
The Italian joins Carlos Alcaraz on a growing list of absentees ahead of Paris. Jack Draper has not played since retiring in Barcelona with a knee injury and plans to return during the grass season, while Holger Rune has delayed his comeback from an Achilles injury.
However, there is at least one small positive for the Italian ahead of the grass-court swing. Musetti has no ranking points to defend at Wimbledon after suffering a first-round defeat at the 2025 edition while returning from a leg injury.
For Musetti, the timing of the injury feels especially cruel because last year he reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Monte Carlo before producing semifinal runs in Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros.
Now, fans are anxiously waiting to see whether more heartbreaking withdrawals arrive before the French Open begins.
