Lorenzo Musetti marked his return to competitive tennis with a straightforward victory over Matteo Arnaldi at the ATP 500 in Washington on Monday, as his fellow Italian was forced to retire with a foot injury after just 40 minutes.
Arnaldi, ranked 35th in the world, struggled from the outset and lost the first set 6-0 before falling 3-1 behind in the second. He approached the net and indicated a foot problem to Musetti before shaking hands, bringing an abrupt end to the all-Italian first-round contest.
The match was Musetti's first competitive outing in two and a half months after a rectus femoris injury forced him to withdraw during his fourth-round match against Casper Ruud at the Rome Masters in May. The world No. 15 from Carrara also suffered a premature end to his Australian Open campaign earlier this year due to injury.
Arnaldi, the 24-year-old from Sanremo, had been hampered by a recurring foot issue that has troubled him for several months. His career-best run to the Roland Garros semi-finals — a match he was ultimately unable to contest, giving Francisco Cerundolo a walkover — was followed by a difficult transition to hard courts.
Musetti dominated the contest statistically, winning 37 points to Arnaldi's 15. He put 54 percent of his first serves back in play unreturned, lost just one point on serve in the opening set, and won all eight rallies between five and eight shots — demonstrating sharp timing and clean ball-striking in his first match back.
The victory extends Musetti's perfect head-to-head record against Arnaldi to 4-0. He collects 50 ranking points and rises one spot to 14th in the live rankings.
The 14th seed will face either Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic or American lucky loser Zachary Svajda in the second round.
Sources
- [Ubitennis - ATP Washington: Arnaldi si ritira, Musetti vince al rientro](https://www.ubitennis.com/blog/2026/07/27/atp-washington-arnaldi-si-ritira-musetti-vince-al-rientro/)
- [Il Tennis Italiano - Musetti vince il derby a Washington](https://www.tennisitaliano.it/musetti-vince-il-derby-a-washington-arnaldi-si-ritira-per-un-problema-fisico-dopo-un-set-e-mezzo/)
- [Sky Sport - Musetti al 2° turno dell'Atp Washington: Arnaldi si ritira nel 2° set](https://sport.sky.it/tennis/2026/07/27/musetti-arnaldi-atp-washington-risultato)
