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Matteo Arnaldi spoke candidly in a press conference alongside Flavio Cobolli. He explained that he felt fine during practice and dinner on Thursday but woke up violently ill in the middle of the night.
Italy's Matteo Arnaldi gives a press conference following his forfeit ahead of his men's semi final singles match against Italy's Flavio Cobolli(AFP)Matteo Arnaldi’s dream run at Roland Garros ended on Friday when the Italian withdrew from his semi-final against fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli due to a viral illness. The No. 34 player pulled out hours before the match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Cobolli will now face Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
Matteo Arnaldi reveals sleepless night and sudden illness
Matteo Arnaldi spoke candidly in a press conference alongside Flavio Cobolli. He explained that he felt fine during practice and dinner on Thursday but woke up violently ill in the middle of the night.
“It’s difficult to be here. It’s not what I wanted to do, but last night I started to feel not very well,” Arnaldi said. “Yesterday I was feeling okay. I came here to practice. I did everything I had to do, and I was feeling fine. Then I had dinner. I started to feel so-so with my stomach. I was, like, ‘Alright, that just didn’t digest very well’. But then I woke up at 1 a.m., and I started vomiting, and I wasn’t feeling the best. Then I tried to sleep. I couldn’t sleep at all. At 6 AM, 7 AM. I vomited again. This time was pretty bad.”
A doctor was called to his room, but the symptoms continued. Arnaldi felt dizzy every time he stood up and could not eat or drink without issues.
“It’s tough, because for how the tournament was, for how many hours I spent on court, I was feeling actually very good,” he continued. “To have to withdraw from the first Slam semi-final is not something that you wish to anybody. I tried to get ready and tried to stay as much as I could here and tried to see if I could go on court, but every time I get up, I feel dizzy, and I don’t feel like the best. I’m pretty sure if I eat again, I’m not going to feel good. That was the right decision for me to take.”
He believed it was a virus rather than food poisoning because he felt cold and ran a fever. Arnaldi apologized to fans, especially the Italian supporters who had come to watch the all-Italian semi-final, while also expressing happiness for Cobolli.
Matteo Arnaldi’s strong run cut short by illness
Matteo Arnaldi reached his first major semi-final after a strong 2026 turnaround. He started the year with a foot injury and lost eight of his first ten matches. A title at the ATP Challenger 175 in Cagliari in May helped him climb 70 spots to No. 34.
His path to the final four was physically demanding. He played 18 sets across four matches and spent 17 hours and 42 minutes on court, the longest time any player has taken to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam since the ATP Tour began recording match times in 1991. He won five-set battles against Raphael Collignon and Frances Tiafoe, plus four-set victories over Tallon Griekspoor and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He advanced from the quarter-finals when Matteo Berrettini retired with a hip injury.
Notably, the last player to withdraw from a major semi-final was Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2022 before his match against Nick Kyrgios.
About the Author
Aachal Maniyar
Aachal Maniyar is a Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, where she covers US sports with a focus on major leagues, marquee events, and athlete-driven stories, while also reporting extensively on cricket and global sports. With over five years of first-hand journalism experience, she combines sharp editorial judgment with real-time sports storytelling across platforms. <br><br> Her reporting journey spans leading newsrooms including Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, and CNBC TV18, where she has worked across breaking news, live match coverage, feature writing, interviews, video scripting, and anchoring. This multi-platform exposure has shaped her ability to deliver context-rich sports and business journalism tailored for both television and digital audiences. <br><br> Aachal has conducted and produced exclusive interviews with athletes and public figures such as India cricketer Dhruv Jurel, Indian women’s hockey captain Savita Punia, and industrialist Ratan Tata, along with several emerging and established sports personalities. Her body of work includes in-depth explainers, athlete profiles, emotionally resonant fan narratives, and data-backed match analysis across cricket, Olympic sports, and international competitions. <br><br> She holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune, and believes in reporting that is grounded in accuracy, clarity, and credibility. Her philosophy is simple: sports journalism should go beyond scores and statistics, capturing the human stories, pressure moments, and decisions that shape the game and the people who play it.
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