A semifinalist last year, Lorenzo Musetti has been forced out of the French Open this year after ongoing leg issues returned following his participation in Rome this week.
It is yet another huge blow not only to the player himself, whose best surface is clay, but to the tournament as well, as it has now lost two of last year’s semifinalists, with Carlos Alcaraz already announcing his withdrawal from the tournament a couple of weeks ago.
A Brilliant Start to 2026 Cut Short
Musetti entered the 2026 season in the best form of his career, having broken into the top ten in the rankings and coming off a qualification for the year-end championships in Turin. He followed that momentum with a finals run at his first tournament of the year in Hong Kong.
He then backed that up with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, where against Novak Djokovic, he appeared on the verge of the greatest victory of his career after racing to a two-set lead early in the match. But disaster struck for the Italian, who was forced to retire midway through the contest due to a leg injury, ending his tournament in heartbreaking fashion.
Injury Problems Derail Momentum
The same issue then kept him out of many of the tournaments he had been scheduled to play early in the season. And when he eventually returned, the rust from the injury began to show, as he suffered early exits in his first two tournaments back.
Although he did manage to win a couple of matches in each of his next three tournaments, all on his favored clay courts, he could not regain the momentum he carried into 2026. Unlike last season, when he reached at least the semifinals of every big clay-court event, Musetti failed to put together any deep runs this time around.
Rome Return Aggravates Leg Issue
And now, his participation in Rome, which he chose to play despite not being fully fit because it was his home tournament, appears to have aggravated the left leg issue that has troubled him throughout much of 2026. The Italian announced the setback on social media.
“After yesterday’s match, I underwent medical examinations which revealed a rectus femoris injury, requiring several weeks of rest and recovery. Unfortunately, this means I won’t be able to compete in Hamburg and Roland Garros — news that is incredibly hard to take. 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. I’ll keep you updated.”
This also means Musetti will miss Hamburg next week, where he had also been scheduled to compete, with a return during the grass-court season now appearing to be the earliest realistic possibility for the Italian. Regardless, it is yet another major setback for a player whose immense potential has repeatedly been interrupted by physical issues. The latest injury will now keep him out of one of the biggest events in tennis.
Musetti, whose ranking is now set to drop outside the Top 10 following the withdrawal, will hope the silver lining from this latest setback is that he can return to the court fully healthy and make the most of what the second half of the season still has to offer.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
