Lorenzo Musetti withdraws from Wimbledon as thigh injury lingers

Lorenzo Musetti’s withdrawal from Wimbledon on June 17 stripped the men’s draw of one of its most accomplished grass-court threats and handed an immediate opening to Matteo Berrettini. The Italian, still recovering from a thigh injury, had not played since losing to Casper Ruud in the fourth round of the Italian Open in Rome in mid-May, and the setback had already forced him out of the French Open.

Musetti’s absence matters well beyond one line in the entry list. He reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2024, a run that showed how well his variety, touch and movement can translate to grass when he is healthy. ATP ranking data placed him at No. 11 in late May 2026, and the former world No. 5 has long been viewed as a player capable of disrupting a section of the bracket if he is sharp and moving freely. Taking him out of a 128-player men’s singles draw changes the competitive math for the players around him.

Berrettini is the clearest beneficiary. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist now steps into a main-draw spot at a tournament that opens on Monday, June 29 and runs through Sunday, July 12. For a player like Berrettini, whose own game has thrived on grass, Musetti’s withdrawal does more than create a vacancy. It shifts the balance of a section of the draw and removes a rival who had already proven he could make a deep run on the surface.

The timing also exposes the physical strain built into the modern tennis calendar. A thigh injury sustained in Rome in mid-May was enough to knock Musetti out of two of the sport’s biggest events in the same season, first the French Open and then Wimbledon. His Instagram message made clear that the rehabilitation had been progressing and the medical results were encouraging, but he still had not been able to return to full athletic training, a reminder that recovery windows at the top of the game can be brutally short.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club has announced a record prize money fund of £64.2 million for The Championships 2026, underscoring what Musetti will miss when play begins in London. In a sport where one injury can reshape rankings, seed paths and title chances in a matter of days, his withdrawal is both a personal setback and a competitive opening for the rest of the field.