Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up and a title favourite this year, pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus.
“I am heartbroken to announce that I need to withdraw from @wimbledon due to a positive COVID-19 test result,” the 26-year-old Italian wrote on Instagram.
Berrettini was widely regarded as one of the biggest threats to defending champion Novak Djokovic at the All England Club, having captured back-to-back grass-court titles in Stuttgart and Queen’s.
He is the second man to withdraw from Wimbledon with Covid in two days after 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia also tested positive.
“I have had flu symptoms and been isolating the last few days,” Berrettini said in his statement.