Injury-stricken Matteo Berrettini has appointed the former long-time mentor of Rafael Nadal as his coach in Australia for what is understood to be a trial period.
The former Wimbledon finalist has paired up with Francisco Roig for the new season who is best known for his 18-year stint with Nadal which ended last year. Roig is also the former vice-captain of the Spanish Davis Cup team, as well as a former top 60 player in both singles and doubles during his professional career.
Berrettini’s appointment comes less than two months after he parted ways with Vincenzo Santopadre who had been coaching him since the age of 13. At the time the Italian posted a heartfelt tribute to his former mentor on Instagram but didn’t mention the reason for their separation. Santopadre oversaw his run to the 2021 Wimbledon final as well as breaking into the top 10.
According to Super Tennis, Roig wasn’t the only person in contention to become Berrettini’s next coach. Tomas Enqvist was reportedly also in the running but he couldn’t travel to Australia due to undisclosed ‘health-related issues.’ These issues have been described as ‘not serious.’
Berrettini has been ranked as high as sixth in the world but in recent months he has struggled with various injury setbacks. He hasn’t played since the US Open where he retired from his second-round match due to an ankle injury. Before that, he missed a large chunk of the clay swing due to an abdominal injury and last year underwent surgery on his right hand.
This season he has played 23 matches on the tour, winning 12 of them. His best result was at Wimbledon where he reached the fourth round before losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Berrettini has won seven ATP titles and earned more than $11.5M in prize money so far in his career. He is set to begin the 2024 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland where he could have to play the qualifying rounds unless he receives a wildcard due to the current main draw cut-off.
