Matteo
Berrettini
Italy
·
Tennis
Date of birth | 12 April 1996 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Rome |
Age | 30 |
Nationality | Italy |
Career start | 2013 |
Disciplines | Tennis Singles / Tennis Doubles |
"A tennis player by chance" is how Matteo Berrettini's mother, Claudia, describes her son. Although he was born into a family of tennis fans, he only started playing the sport at the Circolo della Corte dei Conti in Rome because he was pushed by his younger brother Jacopo (also a pro tennis player).
Matteo practised judo and swimming at first, but never looked back after taking up tennis and by the end of 2019 he'd entered the world's top 10.
Early wins
His professional debut took place at Futures F21 level in Italy in August 2013, while his first ATP Challenger took place in Trentino Alto-Adige, in Ortisei, in 2014, and his first match win came the next season at the Futures Turkey F11 tournament in Antalya, Turkey.
Also in 2015 Matteo won his first pro-level title, which came at the Italy F30 tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula.
The following year an injury to his left knee kept him away from the court for several months, but he still ended 2016 with a first final at Challenger level, in Andria, Italy, a run that saw Matteo end the year in the world's top-500.
In 2017 Matteo made his tour level debut on the ATP circuit, with a wild card on the red clay of the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome, where he played fellow countryman Fabio Fognini.
Also in 2017, he won his second ITF title at the Switzerland F1 tournament in Oberentfelden, while at Challenger level, he reached the finals in Quanzhou (China), Portoroz (Slovenia), Istanbul (Turkey) and won his first Challenger title on the clay of San Benedetto, Italy.
Stepping up to the ATP Tour
The 2018 campaign saw Matteo win his first main draw match on the ATP Tour after coming through qualifying in Doha (Qatar) and two weeks later he made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in Melbourne as a lucky loser.
That same 2018 season also saw him make his debut in the Davis Cup, where he was called up for the match against France in Genoa and he won his first match at Masters 1000 level, at the Internazionali d'Italia. At the French Open at Roland Garros he won his first matches in a Grand Slam, which led to Matteo entering the top 100 for the first time.
During 2019 Matteo won two further ATP 250 titles, in Budapest (clay) and Stuttgart (grass), but it was his performances at Wimbledon and at the US Open that caught eyes.
At Wimbledon he became the youngest Italian tennis player to reach the round of 16, where he was beaten by his idol, Roger Federer, on Centre Court, while in New York, on hard courts, Matteo made the semi finals, losing out to Rafael Nadal.
These excellent results allowed him to end the 2019 season in the world's top 10, thus gaining access to the ATP World Tour Finals in London and winning the Most Improved Player of the Year award.
Injuries and the suspension of the tour hampered Matteo's progress in 2020, but he began 2021 in superb form. He helped Italy reach the final of the ATP Cup in Melbourne before securing victory at both the Serbian Open and the Queen's Club Championships.
Making his mark in Grand Slams
He then reached his first Grand Slam final, losing out in the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic, but got injured in the process, which slowed his momentum. Injury also denied the Italian the chance to play in the year-ending Tour Finals which were being held for the first time on home soil in Turin
Having fully recovered from injury, Matteo started the 2022 season in superb style, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open and reaching No. 6 in the world rankings, before going unbeaten on grass, winning Queen's Club and Stuttgart, but illness forced him to miss Wimbledon.
Overcoming injuries
Matteo's 2023 campaign was also impacted by injuries, but 2024 was his year of redemption. He secured his eighth, ninth and 10th career trophies. His dominant streak placed him among ATP’s top comeback stories, earning ATP’s Comeback Player of the Year honours
In 2025, Matteo recorded his best Masters 1000 result of the year by reaching the quarter-finals at the Miami Open, and he was an integral member of the Italian team that successfully won the Davis Cup. He reached the round of 16 at the Monte-Carlo Masters, and participating in the French Open, Wimbledon and several other Masters-level competitions, but injuries would once again delay his progress and he was forced to pull out of numerous events in 2025.
Unfortunately, an abdominal injury also forced Matteo to miss the start of the 2026 season, including the Australian Open. He returned at Roland Garros and made it through to the quarter-finals before having to withdraw through injury. Fortunately, he recovered in time to compete at Wimbledon, with a world ranking of No. 51.
In training for the clay season
© Gabriele Seghizzi/Red Bull Content Pool
Berrettini is part of the golden generation of Italian tennis
© Gabriele Seghizzi/Red Bull Content Pool
Hampered by injuries, but still a major force in men's tennis
© Gabriele Seghizzi/Red Bull Content Pool
In action at Red Bull Bassline in Vienna
© Philipp Carl Riedl / Red Bull Content Pool