Matteo Berrettini was born on April 12, 1996, in Rome, Italy. Berrettini was fortunate enough to live in a household with a tennis heritage. His father, Luca Berrettini, was a former tennis pro, while his mother, Claudia Bigo, is a former club player in her native Italy.
Matteo Berrettini has a younger brother, Jacopo, who is also an ATP pro. Berrettini was raised in Rome, and he picked up his first tennis racket at the age of 3, which he was gifted by his parents. Berrettini won six titles at the junior level, including the Grade 2 ITF event U18 Salsomaggiore Terme in his home country.
He turned professional in 2015. His first coach, Vincenzo Santopadre, has been with him since his tender years in the sport from 2011. Berrettini won his first ATP Challenger title in 2018 in Bergamo, Italy, beating compatriot Stefano Napolitano in the final, while his first ATP Tour title arrived just five months later, streaking to win the ATP 250 title at the Swiss Open in Gstaad without dropping a set.
At the same tournament, Berrettini achieved a monumental and rare feat of winning an ATP title without losing a single service game all week, holding 49 times. In 2019, Berrettini would announce himself on the main event at the Tour level.
After winning his second and third titles on the ATP Tour, the man from the Eternal City reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open, becoming the first Italian man to reach the New York Slam last four stage since 1977. His run was ended by eventual champion Rafael Nadal.
Berrettini broke the ATP’s Top 10 towards the end of the 2019 season, reaching the semifinals at the Shanghai Masters (his first at the Masters level) and at the Vienna Open, the latter propelling him to qualify for the ATP Finals in London.
Although Berrettini was eliminated in the group stage, he became the first Italian man to win a match at the season finale when he beat Dominic Thiem. Berrettini’s best Grand Slam result came at the 2021 Wimbledon. He had won the ATP 500 event at Queen’s in the build-up and went on to headline that year’s Wimbledon final.
He became the first Italian man in the Open Era to reach the final at the All-England Club. Berrettini lost to seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in four sets. In 2022, Berrettini made the Australian Open semifinal for the first time, thereby becoming the first man born in the 1990s and the first Italian man to reach at least the quarterfinals at all four Slams.
He peaked at a career-high ranking of World No. 6. Although Berrettini had a limited toolbox of shots, he made full use of his biggest weapons on the court. Blessed with one of the tour’s fastest serves and heavy topspin forehand nicknamed ‘’the hammer’’, Berrettini is a versatile presence on any court. His ability to incorporate variation in his game with his wonderful use of the backhand slice makes him naturally comfortable, even against players with a vast array of skills.
