Matteo Berrettini has now officially withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters and the China Open due to his ankle injury.
Matteo Berrettini's season has been anything but great as the Italian dealt with several injuries as well as a general lack of confidence due to the lack of playing time. It was pretty evident in the way he played but some solid wins at Wimbledon proved a spark.
It didn't last long, though, as disaster struck at the US Open, where he injured his ankle and had to be carted off the court in a wheelchair. The injury was feared to be significant, but luckily, it isn't, as he recently updated about it on social media.
He didn't provide any timetable for his return, but it was unlikely to happen quickly anyway. He withdrew from the upcoming Davis Cup Finals but has now added the Shanghai Masters and China Open to the list, missing the ATP 1000 and ATP 500 events, adding to the number of points that he'll miss out on.
Many wonder, though, whether that means that Berrettini is likely done for the year, as pushing for a return this year doesn't make much sense as he likely won't play at the ATP Finals. It's far more sensible to push that back to January and the Australian Open, giving himself time to recover and strengthen the ankle properly.
We don't know, as the Italian didn't specify, but his update noted that he will start his rehabilitation soon. How long it ends up being remains to be seen, but health is a priority, and we've seen from his previous rehabs that he won't really force the issues.
So expect a few more withdrawals by the end of the year, such as the Paris Masters and possibly the Davis Cup Finals knockout stage if Italy qualifies.