McEnroe criticized the awkward scene after Arnaldi's withdrawal: Cobolli reached the Roland Garros final without a fight
John McEnroe questioned the decision by the Roland Garros organizers to have Flavio Cobolli and the visibly exhausted Matteo Arnaldi appear together before journalists immediately after Arnaldi withdrew from the semifinal due to illness. It was supposed to be a historic Italian clash for a place in the final of the Paris Grand Slam tournament, but the match was canceled only a few dozen minutes before it was due to begin. According to an ATP announcement, Arnaldi withdrew because of a viral illness, and Cobolli thereby secured his first Grand Slam final without playing. The situation was especially sensitive because the two tennis players are close friends and teammates on the Italian national team, so one player's sporting success came at a moment of great disappointment for the other. McEnroe's remark was not aimed at the players, but at the protocol that required the ill and emotionally shaken Arnaldi to immediately publicly explain one of the most difficult decisions of his career.
The semifinal that was never played
The second men's semifinal at Roland Garros was scheduled for Friday, 05 June 2026, in the evening slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier. According to the tournament's official schedule, the men's semifinals were played that day in two time slots, and the duel between Cobolli and Arnaldi was supposed to follow the match between Alexander Zverev and Jakub Menšík. In its results report, the ATP confirmed that Zverev defeated Menšík 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, while Cobolli advanced against Arnaldi by walkover before the start of the match. In just a few minutes, one of the tournament's most intriguing storylines disappeared: the first men's Grand Slam semifinal clash between two Italian players.
According to the ATP, Arnaldi began feeling stomach problems on Thursday evening, and his condition worsened during the night and morning. In his explanation to journalists, he said that he had vomited several times, that he had been unable to sleep, and that during the day he could not eat or drink normally. Sportsnet, citing a report from Paris, reported that Arnaldi spent a large part of the night vomiting and without sleep, which left him unable to fight for a place in the final. The player said he believed it was a virus, and not merely a passing digestive upset. According to the available information, the decision to withdraw was made immediately before going onto the court, after it became clear that Arnaldi could not play a competitive match at the level required by a Grand Slam semifinal.
Illness, disappointment and an unusual press conference
After the official announcement of the withdrawal, Arnaldi and Cobolli appeared together at the press conference. The Guardian reported that the two players sat apart on the podium, which further emphasized the unusual and sensitive nature of the moment. Arnaldi explained that he had vomited several times during the night, that he felt weak, and that he experienced dizziness when standing up. In such circumstances, he said, he considered withdrawal the right decision, although it was a semifinal that could have changed his career.
At the same conference, Cobolli spoke about a completely different, but equally complex emotion. On the one hand, according to the ATP and The Guardian, he achieved the biggest result of his career and secured a place in the Roland Garros final. On the other hand, he reached that final without playing, after his friend told him that he could not compete. Cobolli admitted that he was close to tears when Arnaldi told him he had to withdraw, and then he had to speak about his own success. In his public appearance, he tried to maintain a balance between sadness over Arnaldi's condition and professional joy at reaching the final.
It was precisely this combination of circumstances that prompted McEnroe's criticism. The legendary American, who took part in television analysis during the tournament, considered the organizational move uncomfortable because Arnaldi, although ill and disappointed, immediately had to stand before the media. In professional sport, press conferences are part of players' obligations, but cases of late withdrawals due to illness often raise the question of how quickly athletes can be expected to give a public explanation. In this situation, the fact that Cobolli simultaneously had to present himself as a finalist, while Arnaldi was the player left without the chance to decide the biggest match of his career on the court, added extra weight.
Cobolli in a Grand Slam final for the first time
The ATP confirmed that Cobolli will play Alexander Zverev in Sunday's final. For the 24-year-old Italian, this is his first final at a Grand Slam tournament, and before Roland Garros 2026 his best result at the biggest tournaments was the Wimbledon quarterfinals a year earlier. In Paris he competed as the tenth seed, and during the tournament he had already secured a significant rise in the rankings. Earlier in the week, the ATP announced that Cobolli, after reaching the quarterfinals, had moved close to entering the world's top ten, while reports from Paris state that reaching the final also confirmed the highest ranking of his career.
Cobolli's path to the final was no accident. According to the official Roland Garros website, in the fourth round he defeated Zachary Svajda in four sets after having to stop a late surge by the American player. In the quarterfinals he then defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, thereby securing his first Grand Slam semifinal. Roland Garros subsequently noted in its report that Cobolli had thereby guaranteed an Italian finalist in the men's draw, regardless of the outcome of the match between Arnaldi and Matteo Berrettini in the other part of the same half of the draw. Friday, however, brought a conclusion without a match, which made Cobolli's success historic, but also emotionally complicated.
The question that immediately arose was whether the unplayed semifinal could help or hurt him ahead of the final. According to The Guardian's report, Cobolli himself said that extra rest can sometimes be an advantage, but also a problem because a player can lose competitive rhythm. In the closing stages of a Grand Slam tournament, it is usually important to preserve energy, especially on clay, where matches are extremely physically demanding. But a semifinal without a single point played also means that Cobolli will enter the final after a longer break, while Zverev played a demanding four-set match on Friday and maintained his competitive rhythm. That difference will not necessarily decide the final, but it will be one of the tactical and psychological elements of preparation.
Arnaldi left without a chance after an exceptionally difficult path
For Arnaldi, the withdrawal was especially painful because he had reached the semifinal after one of the most demanding runs in recent Grand Slam history. A few days before the semifinal, the ATP reported that Arnaldi had spent 17 hours and 42 minutes on court just to reach the quarterfinals, which was the longest path to that stage at a Grand Slam tournament since the ATP began keeping such records in 1991. In the fourth round, he defeated Frances Tiafoe after five sets and five hours and 26 minutes of play, although he trailed 1-4 in the fourth set with two breaks down. The ATP described that comeback as one of the greatest of his career and as the result that took him to the quarterfinals of the biggest tournaments for the first time.
In the quarterfinals, Arnaldi advanced after Matteo Berrettini retired because of a hip injury before the end of the second set, the ATP states. That earned him a semifinal against Cobolli and the chance for an Italian showdown for a place in the final. But the exhausting sequence of matches, although it was not the official reason for his withdrawal, formed the broader context of his condition. According to available reports, the viral illness appeared after he had previously played an enormous number of sets and hours on the Paris clay. Arnaldi himself, however, did not try to present the decision as a consequence of fatigue, but as a health necessity because he could not move, eat or drink in the way required for a professional match.
Arnaldi had already achieved the result of his career in Paris. Before the tournament, he was not among the main favorites, and Sportsnet stated that at the time of his withdrawal he was the 104th-ranked tennis player in the world. At the same time, the ATP's live calculations recorded his major rise in the rankings thanks to his Paris result. That contrast shows how deep his breakthrough was: from a player fighting to regain form to a Roland Garros semifinalist. That is precisely why withdrawing immediately before going onto the court was even harder, both sporting-wise and emotionally.
Zverev awaits in the final as the more experienced finalist
Zverev reached the final by defeating Menšík in four sets, and the ATP reported that this will be his fourth Grand Slam final and his second Roland Garros final. The German tennis player lost his previous three finals at the biggest tournaments: the 2020 US Open, Roland Garros 2024 and the 2025 Australian Open. According to the ATP, in Paris he maintained control against Menšík after the Czech won the third set, and finished the job in the fourth. Ahead of the final with Cobolli, he will have the advantage of experience, but also the burden of the fact that he is still seeking his first Grand Slam title.
The ATP states that Zverev leads 3-1 in head-to-head meetings with Cobolli. One of their matches was played at Roland Garros a year earlier, when Zverev was convincing. Still, Cobolli beat him on clay in Munich this season, which gives the final additional competitive weight. Zverev will be the favorite on Sunday because of his experience and ranking, but Cobolli has shown during the tournament that he can cope with players from the top tier, especially after his victory over Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals. The final match is scheduled for Sunday, 07 June 2026, not before 3 p.m., according to the official Roland Garros schedule.
For Zverev, Arnaldi's late withdrawal also changed his preparation for the final. Instead of learning his opponent after the second semifinal match, he found out the name of the finalist almost immediately after his own victory. The Guardian reported that McEnroe noted in television analysis that Zverev probably did not expect, even in the most optimistic scenario, to play Cobolli in the final. Such a statement reflects the unexpected outcome of the tournament, but it does not diminish Cobolli's result. The Italian reached the semifinal with victories on the court, while he secured the final according to competition rules after Arnaldi's official withdrawal.
Broader context: a record Italian week and the question of how players are treated
Roland Garros 2026 had already carried a strong Italian imprint before Friday. The tournament's official website reported that Cobolli, Berrettini and Arnaldi became the first three Italian tennis players in the Open Era to simultaneously reach the quarterfinals of the same Grand Slam tournament. The ATP also emphasized that this was a historic step forward for Italian men's tennis. That success gained additional importance because the men's draw saw a series of surprises and early exits by big names, opening an opportunity for players who had not previously won Grand Slam titles. Cobolli ultimately became Italy's representative in the final, but the circumstances of his advancement left the impression of an unfinished sporting resolution.
McEnroe's criticism can therefore also be viewed more broadly than the Cobolli-Arnaldi case itself. In modern tennis, players have obligations to the media, tournaments, rights holders and the public, but situations involving sudden illness show the limits of such procedures. Arnaldi, according to everything said at the press conference and published in reports, was weak enough that he could not play, yet he still had to immediately verbalize his disappointment in front of cameras. Cobolli, meanwhile, had to publicly process the moment of his career, which he could not celebrate the way he would have after a victory on court. For spectators and organizers, the cancellation of the semifinal was logistically and commercially uncomfortable, but for the two players it was a personal and professional moment that is difficult to fit into standard media protocol.
According to media reports from Paris, the organizers also faced the issue of spectators who had bought tickets for the evening slot. The Guardian reported that spectators for that session were supposed to receive a full refund, since the announced match was not played. Such situations are rare in the closing stages of a Grand Slam tournament, but they are not unprecedented. The ATP recalled that the last similar case at that level was Wimbledon 2022, when Rafael Nadal withdrew before the semifinal against Nick Kyrgios. In Paris this time, the outcome affected two friends, one finalist and one player who was left without the chance to play the biggest match of his career so far on the court.
Sources:
- ATP Tour – report on Arnaldi's withdrawal, Cobolli's passage into the final and the health reasons for the withdrawal (link)
- ATP Tour – official results of the Roland Garros 2026 men's semifinals and confirmation of the final pairing (link)
- ATP Tour – report on Alexander Zverev's victory over Jakub Menšík and the context of the final (link)
- ATP Tour – analysis of Arnaldi's record-long path to the Roland Garros quarterfinals (link)
- Roland-Garros – official tournament schedule for 2026 and the closing-stage time slots (link)
- The Guardian – live reporting from Paris on Arnaldi's withdrawal, the joint press conference and John McEnroe's television analysis (link)
- Sportsnet – agency report on Arnaldi's illness, symptoms and the circumstances of his withdrawal (link)