Matteo Berrettini was not happy with what he has heard people saying about Holger Rune’s injury.
Rune left the court in tears after retiring from his semifinal match at the Stockholm Open last week against Ugo Humbert.
Many had suspected that it was an Achilles issue that had been suffered by Rune, who has since revealed the severity of his injury.
Rune has now undergone surgery on his Achilles, but the discourse surrounding his injury has continued.
Matteo Berrettini calls out comments he has heard about Holger Rune’s injury
There have been a lot of things said about the cause of Rune’s injury, with both Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz making strong comments about the current tennis schedule and its contributing factors.
Someone who knows a lot about injury is former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, who was even recently rumoured to be considering retirement.
With world number 10 Rune being a very high-profile player, there have been many different viewpoints on his injury, which could see him out of action for a year.
This includes Eurosport Italy pundits suggesting that this injury may not be the worst thing in the world for Rune, but Berrettini has taken exception to these comments.
In response to a video of these comments on Instagram, Berrettini described the remarks as ‘chilling’ and a ‘madness’, and asked them to perhaps consider the mental impact this injury could have on Rune.
Berrettini wrote in comments translated from Italian to English, “Guys I get it all eh, but this stuff is really chilling…to think an injury of this magnitude could be the best thing to happen to a 22-year-old 11(th) player in the world is either being in bad faith or understanding very little about this sport and the sport in general.
“Competitive maturity and not, it comes with time, with defeats, with victories, with matches lost with match points or maybe wins by playing badly. This is an injury that can radically change a person’s life, let alone a career at this level. I always listen and comment almost never, but here the madness is heard, I understand wanting to talk, say your own thing, always, in any case, but to hear that ‘the curtain popped’ without a bit of compassion or sensitivity, as if we were talking about a balloon to burst on the carousel gives me the chills.
“Behind that injury there is suffering, mental and physical, doubts and moments so dark that it could compromise the mental health of a very young boy. Maybe I’m in a hurry, maybe I know what it means to see certain things slip away without even having the chance to try and stop them, maybe I know how hard it is to come back from an injury, but I’m sure that thinking about it, you’ll also realize that this stuff came out of you badly.
“I might be wrong but I believe that the necessary change of gear in Italian sporting culture also happens from here, from how things are told and how certain topics are analyzed. Putting a player’s potential outcomes over their health is probably not the right way to watch and comment on sport.
“That being said, Holger will be back and stronger than before, but trust me, no athlete in the world would want to go through such an injury, even if they’re told that there would be slight chance of improving his personal best ranking or personal best…”
Matteo Berrettini reveals how he has used anger as ‘an incredible driving force’
Berrettini has been ranked as high as world number six, but he has only played 30 matches this year due to his continued injury struggles.
This has included the Italian missing both Roland Garros and the US Open, and Berrettini spoke to Sky Sports Insider about how he has channelled his frustration during this challenging period.
Berrettini has the words ‘The pain will be useful to you’ tattooed on him in Latin, and he has now explained what this means to him.
“Of course, it’s difficult to talk about pain when much more serious things are happening in the world,” said Berrettini. “Fortunately, mine is related to injuries, defeats, or missed tournaments.
“The pain isn’t that serious. However, I realized that the kind of feelings of anger and frustration at missing a tournament or key moment of the season were an incredible driving force to come back and take back what was lost.
“If channelled in the right direction, pain is a source of energy; it must be channelled or it will bring you down. The tattoo reminds me of that: when less beautiful things happen, they must be used to react.”
After being inactive since his first round loss at Wimbledon, Berrettini returned for the Asian swing and played his most recent tournament in Stockholm, where Casper Ruud won the title.
Berrettini will now remain in Europe for the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna, where he will play Alexei Popyrin in the first round.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
