Arnaldi's Sudden Roland Garros Exit
Viral Illness Forces Matteo Arnaldi to Withdraw from Roland Garros Semifinal; Cobolli Advances
Matteo Arnaldi was forced to withdraw from his Roland Garros men’s semifinal against Flavio Cobolli after contracting a viral illness, ending what was expected to be an all-Italian matchup. Arnaldi said the problems began the night before with severe vomiting, dizziness, and difficulty eating or drinking even after receiving medical attention, making him unable to stand and compete at Court Philippe-Chatrier. With the walkover, Cobolli advanced to Sunday’s first Grand Slam final, where he will face Alexander Zverev. The withdrawal came as Arnaldi had reached his first major semifinal after a breakthrough run, including an extended workload and a quarterfinal that advanced due to Matteo Berrettini’s retirement. Tournament organizers said only the other semifinal was played on Friday as Arnaldi’s illness prevented the match from beginning.
Key Points
Arnaldi said the illness followed a normal day at Roland Garros: he “started to feel so-so with [his] stomach” after dinner, then woke at “1:00 a.m.” to begin vomiting again, and later could not keep any food or drink down despite a doctor “in the room” who “gave me some stuff.”
Before reaching the semi, Arnaldi’s workload set a measurable benchmark: he logged 17 hours and 42 minutes on court—surpassing the previous Roland Garros semifinal workload record by nearly two hours.
Tournament context differed sharply for the two semifinalists: Arnaldi entered Roland Garros unseeded, ranked No. 104, and had never previously reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal before this year.
The match was called off on very short notice: Arnaldi’s withdrawal was announced about “20 minutes before the match” was due to begin.
The case was also framed as rare at this stage of a major: one report noted the last time a player withdrew from a semifinal at a Grand Slam was at Wimbledon 2022, when Rafael Nadal withdrew before facing Nick Kyrgios.
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